The Life Of Rose
by MollyRose3417
Summary: Rose has never been a normal girl. She belongs to a tribe of werewolves, and is a great warrior. But when the royal family of vampires comes to her home for a celebration,what's a teenage girl to do? Make some trouble. vampire romance
1. Life of Rose

**Hey everyone! This is my first story so I really don't know what I'm doing. But please review and tell me what I'm doing right or wrong. Don't worry, there will be vampires and lots of romance. I feel like I'm adding to much detail right now though. Please review!**

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** Describing Life for Rose**

When I was young, my Mom use to tell me that one day, I would find the man of my dreams. We would be madly in love and live happily ever after, with no problems or depression at all. Just me and him, for all eternity. Ya right.

"Rose! Get your ass down here now!" said Shannon in the most irritating voice, "You might be the youngest, but you sure as hell are the slowest!"

"I'm coming!" I yelled, "Geez keep your shirt on." Shannon was like my older sister. Well, not really, but she _was_ two years older than me and we lived in the same house. You see, I live with my Uncle Ace and my three cousins. Saun and Janice are twins, and they are both 19 while Shannon is 18 and I am 16.

When I was 10, my parents and my older brother, Brian, died in the middle of the night while I was sleeping. My Uncle used to tell me it was an accident, that nothing could have changed what happened, and we should all just live with it. But I knew it was no accident. I knew exactly who killed my family, and I had forever sworn to get revenge on them.

My family and I... well, we're different. More than different actually. We belong to a tribe of Hungarian elders...Hungarian elders, made of werewolves. Every other generation in a family can take the form of, by choice ( no full moon transformations or any of that crap), a wolf. My Grandparents were wolves, but my parents were not, and now I can take the form of a wolf. When my Brother was alive, he could take the form of a wolf too, but I try not to think about him.

When my parents died I moved in with my Uncle and cousins, because my parents will said that my Father's brother, Ace, had full custody of me if something were to ever happen. My uncle can't take the form of a wolf, but my cousins sure can.

"Finally! Sleeping beauty comes down from her castle," Saun said while ruffling my hair. He was so tall compared to me, but I was only 5'6 ( for a teenage werewolf, that's a little short). His buz-cut blond hair always high lighted his blue eyes. He was like an older brother to me, always fun but very protective.

"Ha ha. Your hysterical." Note the sarcasm.

" Let's go, let's go! Your going to be late!" My Uncle can never get us to leave on time. "And Shannon," Uncle Ace said as my bleach-blond barbie cousin walked into the room, " please don't get in trouble today, I don't have enough time to come down and bail you out of the principle's office."

" Ya, sure thing Daddy. Hurry up Rose, we're going to be late. See ya, Suan," Shannon said as she walked out the door. Shanon and I still had to go to school, Shannon being a senior and I being a sophomore. It sucked, let me tell you, because I already knew what I was going to be. A werewolf. I would stay in this small reservation for the rest of my life and be a warrior, a protector, ... a **wolf**. And I had no problem with it. My whole family was here, including my friends, but my uncle insisted that we still go to school.

I looked into the mirror in the hallway one last time before we left. Thank god I was having a good hair day, my long, dark brown hair falling just below my full chest. My face was a little paler than normal today, so you could see the freckles on my nose and cheeks well. I was wearing a purple, quarter-sleeve shirt and dark jeans that showed off my butt perfectly.Once we were in Shannon's red Honda civic, I turned on the radio to my favorite station. We just rolled down the windows and listen to the music, not saying anything to each other.

Out of all my cousins. Shannon and I got along the least. I mean, she was a pretty blond girl, you know, the one that was really popular and had lots of friends. I wasn't exactly unpopular, and I wasn't ugly, but we had different style. We usually didn't get along, so it was just better not to say anything to each other at all.

"Meet me here after school. We have to be home early today ,remember?" She said. I knew she just wanted to go talk to the boys that were no doubt waiting by her locker for her.

"Ya sure, whatever," I said. She ran off as fast as she could into the front of the school, leaving me in the dust.


	2. Here I come

I walked all the way to my locker without stopping to talk to anyone, which was a pretty hard task for me. I opened my locker and started to put in my books when I felt to big arms wrap around my waist.

"Hello there beautiful," Kellen said from behind me. Kellen was a year older than me so, he was Shannon's age. He and I had an interesting relationship, we weren't serious like boyfriend and girlfriend, but we sure did flirt _a lot._ I mean, it was hard not to, he was hot. Really hot. I turned around so I could see his face.

"You are going to be late to class." I put both hands on his chest and shoved him backwards.

"Hey, I'm never late. And I know you want to see me every morning, so I thought I could stop by." He gave me his devilish grin and winked at me. Kellen was 6 feet tall and all muscle. He had short brown hair and was very, very tan with deep brown eyes. Kellen and my brother Brian always got along and had been friends when he died, so Kellen and I had known each other forever also.

"Your such a flirt, go to class. Plus, Shannon's going to beat me up if she sees me with you. Not that she could, I mean." I grinned and closed my locker while starting to walk to class.

"Ya, well, you're a better kisser," he winked at me and turned to leave as I entered first period. _Sometimes he gets a little too cocky,_ I thought while laughing.

"Well," Mrs. Davis, my English teacher said, "It's nice for you to join us Rose. Please, if you will, take a seat." The class starting laughing to my embarrassment as I sat down.

"Sorry Mrs. Davis," I muttered and took a seat in the last row.

"Where the hell have you been?" Emily asked. Emily was my best friend ever, she was always there for me and I was always there for her. She was a werewolf like myself, her father was second in command of our pack. In fact, all of my friend were werewolves. I did talk to a lot of humans, don't get me wrong, but they were more of acquaintances than friends, like Emily and Kellen and the rest of my pack.

"Sorry," I said. I seemed to be doing a lot of apologizing this morning. "I woke up late and ran into Kellen in the hall."

"I swear, that boy will never stop flirting. He needs to start thinking with his head instead of his _head_, if you know what I mean."

"Well if I remember correctly, Miss Emily Robinson, you do flirt with him an awful lot yourself. You flirt with everyone, actually." I couldn't blame her though. Emily was pretty, but in the unusual kind of beauty. She had bright red hair and dark green eyes, which was very unusual for werewolves considering our Hungarian heritage. Her Mother was very Irish though, and still had her Irish accent even though she lived in America for almost 20 years now.

My Uncle told me it was a big fuss when Emily's Dad, Jona, married Emily's Mother, Elizabeth. Because Jona was to be second in command of the pack, he was expected to marry within the pack families. It didn't have to be a werewolf you married, just maybe someones daughter in the pack or some friend of the pack. Jona didn't listen to the rules though, because he fell in love with a beautiful Irish immigrant named Elizabeth Thorten. Everyone was enraged, but my father and Emily's father were great friends, and together, they convinced the pack to except the fact that Jona was truly in love. It took time for everyone to accept her, but finally the pack let Elizabeth in, and now everyone loves her like their own mother. I remember how much Emily's parents supported me when my parents died, and I love them like my own Mom and Dad.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Emily said.

"Yeah. Well, no."

"I said what are you going to wear tonight? You know the vampires are coming, and I hear they are extremely _delicious_." Ugh, the vampires.

Vampires are one of the many things in life that I am afraid of. Along with our werewolf tribe, called the Kuzon tribe, there is a vampire coven in Colorado also. Vampires aren't like Hollywood has described them to be. They do drink blood, but they don't have to kill the person to do it. Usually, vampires drink someones blood in a time of intimacy, like kissing or even sex. They also age, but very, very slowly. They grow up normally, except for the super strength, seeing, hearing, etc., but they start to age slowly in their mid twenties. That's why many vampires who are 90 or 100, look more like they're 30 or 40.

The Kuzon tribe and said coven of vampires are great allies, actually. Our ancestors were both from Hungary, and had been friends for hundreds of years. Every two to three years, the Kuzon tribe and the coven get together for a month, and spend time having feasts and competitions and activities. This time was called the "Gallient". Last time, the Gallient was held on the coven's side of Colorado, and Ace thought it would be too dangerous for me to go, and the times before that, Emily and I had been too young. So this was our first time, and we were excited.

"I don't know," I answered, "But I want it to be something hot. I want to show these vamps that I'm just as every bit as intimidating as them." Even though I was scared of them. Vampires had killed my family, and even though it was no one from the coven, I was still a little scared. "Plus, Shannon said that they were sexy, and well, who am I to miss an opportunity?" I smiled and winked at her.

She laughed and pushed me back. "Ya well, come after school today and we'll pick out the outfits we can wear."

"Aight, girlfriend. We have to be quick though. Ace wants me home early to have a 'talk' with me," I made air quotes with the word talk. I already knew what the talk was about. Ace wanted to tell me about the _boys. _Ugh. I loved my uncle, but he could be really really awkward. This upcoming month was a time for festivities and fun with werewolves and vampires, but it was also a time for love. My parents had told me when I was younger that the Gallient was also a sort of mating season, were werewolves would challenge each other for mates and vampires would hunt down their soul mate. You had to be fifteen or older to participate in the mating activities, and this year I was sixteen, so I was eligible so be courted. I thought it was stupid. What is this, the seventeenth century? But I never said anything, because this event had taken place for hundreds of years, and I knew I wouldn't be the one to change it.

"Ha. My dad already gave the talk to me. I mean, what are they thinking? It's not like anyone is gonna court us anyway." She said it with a straight face, but I knew she really wanted to be. I mean, who wouldn't want men chasing you, or even fighting over you? Hell, I don't mind. "My dad also gave me the Vampire talk. Ugh it was so weird."

The vampire talk is the name us kids have to the speech our parents give us about vampires. It was when our parents (or uncle in my case) told us that we could never have a serious relationship with a vampire, so don't even try. Don't get me wrong, we could fool around and have fun and all that, but the minute anyone mentions marriage or soul mates with the other race, we would be punished and never allowed to see that vamp again. I know, stupid right?

Later in the day, when I was on my way to lunch, I spotted a tall, redheaded guy walking toward the cafeteria. I walked up behind him and yelled "Hey!".

He jumped so high I started laughing. "God, Rose, do you have to do that? You're gonna give me a heart attack!" Frank said to me.

"Oh come on, Frankie. I know you had to hear me, we do have advanced hearing remember? Just smile!" I laughed and took his hand and started walking to the cafeteria.

"You could light up a room with that smile, you know that Rose? I bet the vampires are gonna get a kick out of you." Frankie was Emily's younger brother, and about the sweetest kid ever. He might be a freshman, but he was still a couple inches taller than me and had his mom's and sister's red hair and green eyes.

He pulled me into the cafeteria to our usual table in the back, which consisted on Me (sophomore), Emily (sophomore), Frankie (freshman),Damien (sophomore), Rick (senior), Erik (junior), Kellen (senior), and Suze (junior). Only Emily and Damien were sitting there at the moment, so I went and sat between them.

Everyone at the table was a werewolf, except for Suze, but she knew about us because she was Damien's sister, and Erik's girlfriend.

Damien was my other best friend beside Emily, and he was also gay. I know what your thinking, doesn't he get picked on by the other guys? Here's your answer, _hell no. _Damien did like guys, but he was almost seven feet tall and full of muscle. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes that always made him look like he was ready to beat someone up. But if you knew him like I did, you'd know he was the kindest guy ever. Even though he was a little intimidating at first.

Rick was a senior, and best friends with Kellen and my cousin Saun. Like my cousin, he was tall with blond hair and blue eyes. This combination was quite unusual for our pack, because most of us had dark hair, eyes, skin, etc... but Suan and Rick seemed to be exceptions to that. We called them the freaks of the pack, even though I knew some of them were just jelous that they looked different and could blend in well with the humans.

Suze was Damien's older sister, but she sure didn't act like it. She had an attitude like an angry snake, and she wore punk clothes with a lip ring. She was nice to her friends, but she usually needed an attitude adjustment. Suze was the person I usually got into fights with, even though that wasn't very often because she was a human it I could kill her.

Erik was Suze's girlfriend, and another one of my cousin's friends. He was also extremely hot. Erik and I had a past relationship when we were younger, he was actually my first make-out when I was 14 and he was 15. But for some reason we grew apart and he stared dating Suze. He was tall, but not as tall as Saun and Rick, and had dark brown hair with light brown eyes. He was also the only one besides me who had freckles.

"Hey D," (that's what I call Damien), "You wanna come over to Em's house today after school and help me pick out an outfit?" I asked. He had a great fashion sense, and always managed to make me look good.

"I knew you would want to look good for the vamps," he said chuckling. "You know the rule about-"

"Yes I know the rule about Vampires," I interrupted, "I'm not trying to seduce them, dumb ass, I just want to make sure they know I'm not scared of them."

"But they might be scared of you," Rick interrupted as he came to the table and sat across from me with Kellen. Erik and Suze came behind them and sat down next to Rick.

"Well, I _am_ very intimidating," I said while I snatched one of his fries.

"Don't worry Rosie, I'll make you look hot." I could always count of Damien.

"I don't get what the big deal is anyways, they're just vampires. What's to be afraid of?"Suze asked. Suze always had to comment on everything. Ugh.

"They are our allies Suze," Erik answered. "Plus, we want to show them that we are just as good as them. And I'm guessing Rose and Emily will want to hook up with a couple." He have us a skeptical glance across the table.

"But I thought you couldn't do anything with the vamps?" Suze asked.

"No you can," Frankie commented. "You just can have a serious relationship with them or anything. But you can fool around all you want..." he finished of quietly blushing. I wanted to reach over and pinch his cheek, he was so cute and shy.

"Shut up Erik, you know if you weren't dating Suze, you'd hook up with some also," Emily said to Erik.

The mindless teasing and chattering went on throughout lunch, and before I knew it the bell rang.

_Get ready Vamps, _I thought to myself._ Here I come._

**Please review! This is my first story and I really want feed back! Thanks!**


	3. Outfits

"Hey, Shannon

"Hey, Shannon!" I called as I spotted her in the parking lot walking to her car.

"What?" She snapped.

"I'm going to Emily's house to hang. I'll just walk home from there, Kay?"

"Whatever, just be home by 4 o'clock." She walked away and didn't wait for my answer.

"Someone's PMSing," I said to Emily as I got in her black convertible. Emily's family did have a lot of money, but she always shared it with me, for which I was very grateful when we went on shopping sprees.

"She's just mad that Kellen likes you better than her," which was true, but she didn't have to be mean. I didn't know what she was complaining about anyway. There were so many guys in our pack; just some of them went to the other public school just five minutes away. A lot were at our school also, we just didn't see them during the day or they didn't have the same lunch as us. "We have to pick up Kellen on the far side of the school."

We drove around to the other side and stopped on the curb to wait for our friend. Kellen was so worried about grades; he often stayed after school to talk to teachers.

As we waited, Kevin and some other wolves walked out of the school. Kevin was a sophomore like Emily and I, and also one of the werewolves I liked to fool around with. He was tall (well duh), and he had long brown hair that he rarely cut. He hung out with a group of about 5 other werewolves, and it was like he was the leader of his own small pack within our pack. I didn't know why he bothered with me though, he had a lot of other girls chasing after him. He was really funny, and he was cute. So I didn't mind. No siree.

"Hey, you waiting for me, Rose?" Kevin teased as he walked over with his group. Emily turned and winked at me.

"Nope." I said. I knew ignoring him would be fun.

"So who you waiting for?"

"Damien."

"Why?" I knew my one-word answers were annoying him.

"Because." I was trying hard to keep a straight face and not look at him. I was just staring a head at the windshield.

He grabbed my chin and made me look at him. I started cracking up laughing. I couldn't help it, he just looked so flustered. He broke into a big grin that was adorable.

"That's more like it." He let go of my chin and ruffled me hair.

"Hey!" I shouted as I tried to get him off my head. Damien walked over and did his little dabs thing with Kevin (you know the guys kind of handshake/ hug thing?), and got into the backseat of the car.

"See ya guys tonight," Em called as we drove out of the parking lot.

"How about this one?" Damien asked, holding up a bright red shirt to me out of Emily's closet.

"No! I'll look like an apple." We had been going through all of our outfits, trying to figure out what to wear. It wasn't like there was a formal ceremony today or anything, but we knew the head vampires were meeting at Emily's house tonight because Emily had the biggest house. We were just going to be _conveniently_ hanging around in Emily's house the _exact_ same time the vamps came. Nothing wrong with that, right?

"I like this outfit. What do you think Rose?" Emily put on a yellow, long sleeve shirt that had a tie just below her breasts and a jean skirt. The yellow shirt made her orange hair have a beautiful glow.

"I love it. But remember, we're just suppose to be hanging out at your house, so don't wear something too cute," I said as I handed her some cute yellow flip-flops to go with the outfit.

I ended up putting on a dark purple top and some dark jeans. I let my hair fall around my shoulders in loose curls and wore some flats. I didn't put any make-up on; I knew it would just get messed up as the day wore on.

We went out to Emily's car and put in our stuff. On our way home, I was thinking about the Gallient and how much fun it was going to be. _Please don't let me do anything stupid, _I prayed. _I want to be taken seriously in my pack, not just like a little girl._

"All right, I'll come over around six-thirty," I said as I grabbed my backpack from the back seat and waved to Emily.

"The head vamps will be at my house around seven, so we can hang 'til then. Love ya," she said and drove away.

I walked into my house and called "I'm home!", only to get no answer. I walked into the living room to see Janice reading her book on the couch.

"Hey, Jan." Janice had always been really shy, but she was a nice person overall. Nicer than Shannon, that is.

"Hey Rosie. Dad said that he would get take out on his way home, and he should be here in about thirty minutes."

"Do you know why he wanted us home early today? I mean I know the vamps are coming, but he already talked to us about that." I was actually curious now, because I could be planning and daydreaming with Emily right now.

"No." She answered simply.

I walked upstairs to my room and dumped my book bag on my floor. My room was such a mess; you couldn't even see the floor. But that's how I liked it. I knew I had to clean up though, so I started with the laundry and eventually made my way around the room until Sean called me for dinner.

We all sat down at the dinner table and said grace, and then dug in to the KFC that Ace had brought us. We were making mindless chatter when Ace suddenly cleared his throat at the head of the table.

"You know I wanted you all here for dinner tonight early, because I have some news to tell you." Ace looked at all of us and stopped on me. Okay, now he had my attention.

"You know how there is a certain class system when it comes to vampires. They have something like a royal family, with kings and queens and princes and princesses. Some of them are staying in hotels, some in Emily's house," he looked at me when he said that, "And one is going to be staying here."

"What?!" Sean, Shannon, and I all said while Janice just looked at him in shock.

"We all have to contribute to the Gallient you know, and I offered to be a host to one of our guests of the Prince's friends. A sort of... right hand man to him to the prince himself." He tried to defend himself, but he knew we would be angry. We already get on each other's nerves as it is because the house is so small, we can't have another person living here also.

"But Daddy," Shannon said, "Can't he just, I don't know, stay in a hotel or something?"

"No Shannon. As part of this pack, we need to contribute our things, like our house, to others. Janice and Shannon, you will have to share a room just until the Gallient is over, then you can move back to your own room, Shannon."

"Me? Why me? Can't Janice move in with Rose? Or why doesn't the vamp stay in one of their rooms?" Shannon pointed to us as she blubbered.

"Because I said so. Discussion over. Now go on and do whatever you want, just be home by ten." Ace got up and left the table, while Shannon went to her room to mope and Janice went back to read her book on the couch.

"Sean, would you mind giving me a ride to Em's house so I can do homework. Pretty please?" I knew he would, I just added the pretty please to be polite.

"Yeah sure. And you don't have to make the whole homework excuse, I know you just want to get a good look at the head vamps," Sean said with a smile as he grabbed his car keys and opened the front door for me.

"You know me too well cuz," I said while I got in the car.

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**Come on! Help me out here! Anonymous review welcome please!**


	4. The Vampires arrive

**Hey guys! Thanx for all the reviews and favorites! I'm really exited to right this story now! keep reviewing! oh and I changed some of the first chapter. You know how I said only every other generation could take the werewolf form?... well I deleted that. So now it's not every other generation. Shanks ya!**

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I waved bye to Sean as he dropped me off at Emily's and drove away

I waved bye to Sean as he dropped me off at Emily's and drove away. I went up and rang the doorbell to her house, and waited until someone answered.

"Oh Rosie," Emily's Mom Elizabeth (I call her Lizzie because she calls me Rosie) greeted me at the door. "You know you don't have to ring the doorbell. Just come right on in," she said with her Irish accent as she stepped to the side to let me into the ginormous house.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly and hugged her.

"Emily is in the basement with Frank, and the Vampires are going to be here in about a half an hour. They are really nice, Rosie. I know you haven't had such a great past with Vampires before," well duh, some killed my parents and my brother, "But these people are different. I promise." She hugged me and pushed me toward the basement door.

"Thanks," I said, and then added, "Again." I thought I was home clear when Lizzie called "Rosie?"

"Ya?" I asked.

"Please don't to anything to, I don't know, _interrupt_ the meeting tonight. I know you and Emily want to see the vampires, but you can meet them _after _the meeting, okay?" Damn, she caught us. But at least she was being nice about it.

"Yes, Ma'am," I said as I quickly went through the basement door and shut it behind me. I walked down the stairs to their basement, and went through the game room doors. Emily's house was big, so that meant they had a lot of extra space since there were only four people living in it. Emily's parents turned half of their basement into a sort of play room, were we could play videos games and wrestle without breaking anything.

Emily and Frank were just watching TV when I got down stairs, so I sat in the middle of them on the couch and said "Hey guys."

"So, are you excited?" As usual, Emily got right down to business.

"Yes," I said. "I'm excited for the whole Gallient. The games and competitions and parties, it should be a blast!"

"Me too. And I'm looking forward to the guys," Emily said and she smiled and winked at me.

"I'm excited too," Frank said quietly.

"Well, which part are you excited about?" I asked Frankie.

"Everything. It should be fun."

"What about girls, little brother?" Emily always knew how to make her brother embarrassed.

"I don't know," he was blushing now.

"Come of Frankie, you've got to have a little bit of a crush on someone. This pack is huge! Plus, there are all the werewolves sister's too." I said. I never really thought about Frankie liking someone like that, but he was almost 14 almost 15, and I was very…. _boy- active_ when I was his age.

"How about Brittany?" Emily asked. "She's really cute, and I've seen you two talking a lot." Brittany was Rick's little sister, but she wasn't a werewolf. No one ever knew what makes one offspring of a werewolf be able to take wolf form and the other not. Like my uncle Ace and my Father who were brothers. My grandfather was a werewolf and so was my Dad, but my uncle Ace is not. He was still considered part of our tribe though.

Frankie looked down at his hands in his lap. "She doesn't like me like that."

"Ahah! So you do like her!" I said while I playfully punched him in the arm.

"Guys please don't say anything! And I told you, she doesn't like me like that anyway."

"How do you know?" Emily asked.

"I don't, I can just tell though." Frank seemed like he didn't want to talk about it any more, so I got up and went to the mini-fridge.

"Do you guys want anything?" I asked as I looked in the fridge. We had all just had dinner, but being a werewolf gave you a fast metabolism, so we were always hungry.

"Ya, grab us a coke and a yogurt please," Frank said, thankful that I changed the topic.

We waited for about twenty more minutes until we heard the door bell ring. Emily and I froze, and then ran up the stairs and put our ears to the door. Frank just stayed on the couch to watch TV.

"Can you hear anything?" I whispered to Emily.

"Ssssshhhh!" She said to me. I pressed my ear closer and listened.

"James! So nice to see you again, please, come in," I heard Emily's father, Jona, say to no doubt, the head vamp, or the Vampire king.

"Jona, it's been too long. And Elizabeth, you look better than ever!" We heard the Vamp, 'James', say to Emily's mom. I looked at Emily and we started to giggle. It sounded like James was flirting with her mom.

"James! Hannah! How wonderful to see you." Elizabeth said to them. I guessed Hannah was James' wife, and the Vampire Queen.

"You remember my son Gregory, don't you? He's 18 now," James said, introducing his son.

"Is that the Vamp prince?" Emily whispered to me. "It must be if he's the son of the head vamp."

I shrugged and we turned back to listening to the conversation.

"Nice to see you again Greg, you've grown into a true man," Jona said to Gregory.

"Thank you, Jona. It's nice to see you too. And I believe you met my friend, Brysdon, at the last Gallient, did you not?" Greg had a steady voice, and I tried to picture what he looked like. (**A.N. Brysdon is pronounced brice-don).**

"Yes I did," Jona replied. "It's nice to see you again. You as well have grown much, Brysdon."

"It's nice to see you too, sir," a deep voice who I guessed was Brysdon replied.

"Oh please, call me Jona." Jona had always been so nice. There were a few more introductions, as their voices faded away and they walked into the living room, until Emily and I couldn't hear them anymore. We went back down stairs and sat on the couch.

"Oh my god! He brought his friend too! Where do you think the rest of the vamps are? Do you think-" Emily got cut off from her rant as Frank put a hand over her mouth.

"I forgot to tell you guys! Ace said that one of the vamp's are going to be staying at my house! He said it was like the prince's 'right hand man'. Do you think that's him? That Brysdon guy?" I totally forgot to tell them about it.

"I don't know, probably! We're having the head vamps stay at our house, like the prince and king and queen. My parents didn't tell me about anyone else staying here."

"Emily! Frank! Rose! Come up here please!" Emily's Dad called us from upstairs, startling us.

"Your mom told us not to interrupt the meeting!" I whispered/shouted to Emily and Frank as we walked up the stairs.

"Maybe the Vampires asked about us and now they want to meet us," Frank offered as an explanation.

My heart started pounding harder as we reached the top of the stairs and walked down the hallway. Frank turned into the living room first, and then Emily and I followed him.

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Review please!


	5. First sight

**Okay here we go. This is the chap where we first see the vamps. Review please!**

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"Ah, here they are," said Emily's mom as we walked into the living room. The room held about thirteen people, Emily, her family, the King Vamp, the Queen Vamp, the prince and his friend, Brysdon, and an assortment of Vampires and Werewolves.

Daniel, our pack leader, was sitting in a chair next to the couch. Daniel was very, very tall and big. Well, he had to be, considering he was our leader. He had very dark skin and dark brown eyes with dark hair. Pretty much everything was dark, and it made him look scary. But he was an amazing leader, being at only the age of 40. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties though, because werewolves don't age as long as the frequently take the wolf form. My father was second in command when he was alive, so Daniel and him had been very close. Daniel had been there for me when my father died, and I know he looked after me more carefully then the other wolves. Which was sometimes very annoying when I wanted to get away with something bad.

Next to his chair, on the couch was the royal family. The king was the biggest, but I couldn't tell how tall he was, because he was sitting down. He had light brown hair and blue eyes, and was _very_ handsome. Shannon wasn't exaggerating when she said they were good looking.

Next to him was a beautiful woman, who I was guessing was the Vampire queen. She had dirty blond hair with light almond shaped, light brown eyes. She was wearing a brown summer dress, which made her curves look gorgeous.

Then there was a boy who looked a little older than me. He defiantly inherited his parent's good looks, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes with a sharp nose and chin. They also all had pale skin, but that was to be expected from vampires.

There was another man who was standing beside the couch and looked a little older than me as well, and I guessed he was Brysdon. At first, I wondered if he was apart of the royal family too, because he was **gorgeous.** He had pitch-black hair that stopped just below his eyebrows, and it was in a messy disarray. His eyes were a dark green with some brown, and he seemed to be at least 6'2. He was tall and lean, and you could see the muscles under his tight fitting, black shirt. One thing about him though, was that he looked dangerous, and very intimidating. As I was examining him, he turned his head a looked directly at me with a straight face, and I quickly looked away.

Jona led us to the middle of the room, in front of the couch of Vampires, and we stood side by side. The vampires stood up, and Daniel stood up as well. The talking in the room grew down to a low murmur as Jona began to introduce us.

"This is my son, Frank. He's turning 15 next month in July." He put his hand on Frank's shoulder as he introduced him proudly.

"Nice to meet you son," said the King Vamp, James, as he shook Frank's hand.

"I remember you when you were inside your Mom's tummy," Hannah, the queen, said with a smile as she shook his hand as well, and then the Price gave his hand a good grip and greeted him.

"And this is my lovely daughter, Emily," said Jona. Hannah shook her hand and the King gave her hand a kiss on the knuckles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Emily said nervously as the prince, Gregory, took her hand.

"The pleasures all mine Emily," he said and kissed her on her knuckles and looked her in the eyes as he pulled back. I knew Emily's legs were going to turn to mush if he hadn't pulled away, and I smiled to myself.

"And who is this lovely young woman?" James asked, as they all looked at me.

"This," Daniel said, coming up beside me as he put his hand on my shoulder, " happens to be Rose Fairday."

That stopped everyone from talking. It was silent, and all the vampires in the room looked at me with wide eyes. This happened a lot to me actually, whenever my last name 'Fairday' was mentioned, because that meant they all knew who my parents were.

Like I mentioned before, I didn't know much about how my parents died. I just knew that I was ten, and it was in the middle of the night. My parents were away for the Gallient, and left me with a sitter. My brother was four years older than me, meaning he was 14 at the time, and old enough to go to the party being held that night.

All my uncle ever mentioned was that a clan of angry vampires attacked the party, and my parents killed them and saved people, but in the progress, they were killed a long with my older brother. I had always asked more, like what happened and how they died and who did they save, but my uncle never wanted to talk about it. I tried asking other people who were there that night, like Emily's parents or Daniel, but they always just said, "You should ask your uncle".

So whenever I was introduced to people who knew who my parents were or heard stories about them, I always ended up getting stared at. I kind of got use to it after a while, but I never knew why they always stared at me in such a way.

"Rose Fairday?" James asked in amazement. "Daughter of Mary and Charles Fairday?"

"Yes sir," I answered with a confident voice.

He kissed my knuckles and smiled at me. "Your father was one of my best friends, Miss Fairday, and a great man."

"It's very nice to meet you," Hannah said as I held out my hand for her to shake.

The prince took my hand and kissed my knuckles as well, looking me in the eyes the whole time. He pulled away slowly and said, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Rose," in a kind voice.

"It's very nice to meet you too...?" I remembered that I wasn't supposed to know his name was Gregory.

"Gregory," he said to me.

"It's very nice to meet you, Gregory." Oh geez, he was adorable.

"And this is my friend, Brysdon, and his sister, Amanda," Gregory said as he motioned to Brysdon and the woman standing next to him. Amanda had dark brown hair, and the same color eyes as her brother. She too, was very pretty with pale skin.

"Hello," they both said to us, and Brysdon nodded.

"I believe Brysdon will be staying with Ace Peterson while we are here," Hannah said as she sat back down on the couch.

"Yes, he will be, if that's alright with you Brysdon?" Elizabeth asked.

"Anything's fine, Mrs. Robinson." Brysdon's voice was rich and deep and very, very _sexy_.

"That also happens to be Rose's house, too, since she lives with her uncle now. How wonderful!" Elizabeth said.

Oh great.

**Okay, who do you like better, Gregory or Brysdon?? shanks ya!**


	6. Beautiful

**Alright guys, here's another chapter. I'm suppose to be doing homework, but screw homework. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! Seriously, every time i get a review i have a heart attack. A lot of you said I needed to work on my punctuation, but I'm not quite sure what to work on so help me out! thanks for the feedback! To all my bffs who reviewed... ****Ryan Lester- i hate you, e****mily- i love you, ****Diane- you suck, but i love you too (i put u in the story!) Thanks so much and review!**

**oh and question. whats a story alert? and what is a beta reader? okay thanks!**

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"OH MY GOD!" Emily always did have a way with words. "They are so hot! Did you see the way that Gregory looked at me? And that guy Brysdon... **delicious**. You are so lucky he's staying at your house!"

"They are really cute, but there are going to be a lot more vamps. Plus, werewolves from our pack that we haven't seen in a long time our coming too. Maybe you'll find that special someone," I suggested.

We were upstairs in her room lying on her bed. Once we were introduced to the head vampires, we were quickly dismissed upstairs so that the meeting could continue. We were lying on our backs next to each other, daydreaming about the men.

I couldn't stop thinking about how Brysdon had stared at me.

"What do you think of the Brysdon guy?" I wanted to get a second opinion. "Besides his hotness, I mean."

"He was really scary. I think that's cute though, he could protect you. Not the friendliest vampire, but his sister sure seemed nice."

"Ya, I guess so." My cell phone started to play the 'Jaws' theme song, so I knew Shannon was calling me.

"Sup, Cuz?" I answered.

"Dad wants you home now," she said. She sounded a little annoyed for having to call me.

"Why? Tomorrow's our last day of school, and I already studied for finals," I said. Even though I hated going to school, I was a straight-A student. I knew my brother use to be, I didn't want to let him down.

"We have to clean the house and fix my room for the Vampire who's going to be staying here. He's not staying here tonight, but he'll be coming tomorrow."

"Oh ya," I said, "I met him already, he is here at Emily's house. His name is Brysdon and-"

"Truly, I don't really care," Shannon interrupted me. I knew she was going to care once she got a good look at his cuteness.

"Look, let me call Ace and ask him if I can sleep over Emily's house tonight, okay?" I looked at Emily as I asked and she just nodded her head a smiled, telling me it was fine to stay there for the night.

"Sure. One question though, is this Brysdon guy hot?" I should have guessed.

"You'll see," I said, and then hung up the phone. I dialed my uncle's number and waited for him to pick up.

"You can just borrow some PJs and clothes from me," Emily offered to me while the phone rang.

"Thanks, chica."

"Hello?" My uncle's guff voice came through the speaker.

"Hey Ace, do you mind if I sleep over Emily's tonight? I already studied for all my finals, and she said I can just borrow her clothes," I asked, knowing that he would already say yes.

"Sure thing honey, just don't stay up to late, okay?"

"Sure, sure. I love you." **(A.N. Anyone recognize the 'sure, sure'? or am i the only one who reads Twilight?)**

"I love you, too," and then he hung up the phone. I put my cell back in my pocket and then sat back down on her bed.

"My mom said that most of the vamps are either staying here or in hotels tonight until they figure out who's staying where," Emily said.

"Ya, Shannon just said that Brysdon isn't coming over until tomorrow night, so that must mean that him and the head family are staying here." We both looked at each other at the same time as my words dawned on us.

"Pool?" Emily asked.

"Absolutely." We both ran to her dresser and started to take out her bathing suits. To go along with the Robinson's huge house, they had a huge pool in there back yard. It was a very hot day outside, perfect to take a dip in the pool, and to show off our bods to the hot vampires. Hehehe.

"Which one do you want to wear?" Emily asked.

"Which ever one you don't want to wear." They were her bikinis, after all.

"Don't be stupid," she said, "Wear the black one. It makes you look hot. Well, that's what I heard Kellen tell Kevin last week, but I trust their opinion." We started to laugh as we stripped down and put on our bathing suits. Emily was wearing and blue and green plaid one, and I was wearing just a simple black one. We put on some shorts, tang tops, and flip flops and headed down the hall.

"You want to ask your brother to join us?" I asked her.

"Sure, I got to get us towels anyway. Meet me down stairs," she replied and walked down the hall.

I stopped at Frank's room and knocked on the door. I heard a muffled "Come in", so I opened the door and peeked my head inside.

"Hey, you want to come swimming in the pool with your sister and I?" He was sitting at a desk looking at a textbook. Probably being a better student then his sister and studying.

"Sure! Give me two seconds to get on my suit. I'll meet you down there," he replied.

I shut his door and started to run back down the hall. When I turned the corner, I ran right into someone and knocked us both down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said while tying to get back up on my feet.

"Watch where you're going!" I finally got a good look at the person that I smacked into it. It was a female vampire who was only a half an inch taller than me. She looked about my age, and had some Asian in her. Her black hair was pulled back and her side-swept bangs were half-covering one eye. She was really pretty, but all vamps pretty much were.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't paying attention," I said. I got to my feet and offered her a hand, but she swatted it away and got up her self.

"I didn't think werewolves were this dumb. You've proved me wrong, bitch." Oh, no she did not.

"Well I am a dog and a girl, so being a bitch comes with the territory. What's your excuse?" I knew it was mean, but she started it.

"You better-"

"Diane," a deep voice said from behind her. She turned around and I looked up, and saw Brysdon standing there. "Maybe you should come with me. Now."

I wanted to stick my tongue out at her, but I didn't want to look childish. 'Diane' turned around and glared at me before stomping down the hall. Brysdon turned around and started to walk down the stairs before I could thank him.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go!" Frank said as he came up behind me and grabbed my hand. I was thinking about telling him what had happened in the hall, but decided against it. He doesn't need any drama in his life right now.

He led me down the stairs and to the back of the house. We went through the kitchen and through the glass back doors and he shut them behind us. Emily was just setting the towels down on a chair and started to strip down in her bathing suit. I was awfully aware of some of the vampires sitting on the backyard deck watching us.

I stripped down to my bathing suit and tossed my clothes on the chair. I tied my hair up in a messy bun and then looked at Frankie. I winked at him and motioned toward his sister, and he immediately knew what I was implying. We snuck up behind her and pushed her into the pool. Emily gave a big screeched but was cut off as she fell into the water with a big splash.

Frank and I were cracking up when someone pushed me from behind and I fell in too. I had thought Frankie double crossed me and pushed me in, but when I surfaced, I saw he was in the water looking all flustered also.

I looked up to the edge of the pool and saw that Erik and Pete had pushed us in. Pete was another werewolf in our pack who was my age, but his family had moved to Washington about a year and a half ago and joined a pack there, so I hadn't seen him since. I knew he was coming to the Gallient, but I didn't think he'd be here until the next week. He was about Frankie's height, with black curly hair and very tan skin. In other words, he was awfully adorable, and I missed his sense of humor. Well, not when he's laughing at me, like right then.

"Pete!" I yelled and climbed out of the pool. He pulled me into a big hug and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Let me get a good look at you," he said as he held me at arms length and look me up and down. I blushed as his face grew into a big smile. "Wow," he said, "You grew up." I knew I probably looked like an apple right then from blushing so much.

"Hey," Emily said from behind us. "What about me?" Pete let go of me and moved to Emily to pull her into a hung, and then he hugged Frank.

We all greeted each other talked for a little bit, until Erik and Pete decided to come swimming with us in their shorts.

We all jumped in and were splashing around when James, Hannah, Greg, and Brysdon all walked onto the deck. I hadn't noticed them at the time, and so I jumped off the diving board and did an triple back flip and landed in a perfect dive into the water. When I surface, I heard clapping from the deck and turned to see who it was. The king and queen were clapping for me, and I blushed under their gazes.

"Well done dear," Hannah said to me with a smile. I laughed and did a fake bow toward them. I was then suddenly pulled under water by hard hands, and I felt something come between my legs and lift me to the surface again. Erik had pulled me under water and put me on his shoulders. It felt kind of weird being on his shoulders, like Suze would be mad at me because it was a sort of intimate position, but I shrugged it off and focused on what he was saying.

"Chicken fight!" He hollered. Emily then climbed on Pete's back while Frank said he'd be the judge. We walked over to the more shallow section, so the water came up to the boy's upper stomachs.

"Your guys are going down!" I yelled and Pete and Emily.

"One, two, three," Frank counted, "Go!"

Pete started to walk towards us and Emily held out her hands. Erik walked forward and I grabbed Emily and tried to knock her off. We went on like that for a few minutes, laughing and trying to get each other to fall off, while the guys tried to get each other to trip under water. It finally ended with me giving Emily and hard push and knocking her off Pete's shoulders.

"Champions!" I yelled as I gave Erik a high five and he let me off his shoulders. We continued to swim around and laugh at each other when Emily's dad came outside.

"Alright, that's enough you guys. You need to go for a run, you haven't been going out lately," he said as we climbed out of the pool. 'Go for a run' was his way of saying 'go turn into a wolf and run around until you get tired'.

"Plus, I would really like to see you all in your wolf forms," James added. Gregory nodded, and Hannah smiled.

Emily and I looked at each other and then down at our bathing suits. Turning into a wolf, amazingly, doesn't ruin your clothes. My dad had explained it to me when I was little, and Ace explained it to me again when I first found out I would take my parents genes and be a werewolf when I hit puberty.

Taking the wolf form was a sort of... spiritual, thing for us. When we _choose_ to turn into a werewolf, instead of turning into one out of anger, we are giving into our ancestor's spirits, and letting ourselves become a whole different person. So when we changed back into our human bodies, our clothes would be there and not ruined.

But what Emily and I were worried about was that we might not come back to the pool after our run. I didn't want to be in a bathing suit the rest of the evening, so we put on our tang tops and shorts.

Then we both closed our eyes and looked inside ourselves. I called on my wolf form, and I could fell my joints and muscles shifting and forming inside my body. When I opened my eyes again, I had sharper vision, and was a little taller. I looked at my reflection in the water, and saw a pure white wolf staring back at me. Even though I had light brown hair, I had white fur because that's what color my mother's fur was, and her grandmother's before her.

I looked to my side and saw Emily, now a burgundy colored wolf who was a little smaller than me. Beside her was Frank, who had his fathers light brown fur and big stature. Erik was a black colored wolf, and Pete had dark brown fur.

"Beautiful," whispered James. Jona motioned us to come onto the deck, so we all walked up the stairs to stand before them.

"You have the same fur as your mother," Hannah said to me. She reached up to pat me on the head, and I licked her hand. She laughed and wiped her hand on my fur.

I turned around to see Brysdon and his sister, Amanda, staring at us. And what do ya know, Diane was on the other side of Brysdon too. Amanda reached her hand out to me, asking me if she could touch my fur. I nudged my head into her hand, and she laughed and began to stroke my head.

"Wow," Amanda exclaimed, "She's so soft. Feel her Brys." Before I could react, she grabbed Brysdon's hand and put in on top of my head. He looked shocked, and then started to move his hand down my neck. I shivered underneath his touch, and he must have felt it because he turned his head a looked me in the eyes.

"Yes," he said in a soft voice, "She's very beautiful." I would have fainted if I weren't standing in front of all these vampires. Amanda laughed, and I guessed he realized his mistake of saying "beautiful" instead of "soft" because he immediately took his hand from my fur.

"Alright then," said Jona, coming to Brysdon's rescue. "Go on, and don't come back until your extremely tired."

Emily, Frank, Erik, Pete, and I all turned around and raced into the forest.

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**Review! Next chapter you get a convo between Brysdon and Rose!**


	7. Last Day of School

**Alright guys, so here's the chapter where you get the first convo. Thanks for all the reviews! I really love them! To 'SecretsBeneathMySoul', thanks for the advice. I realized i haven't had a lot of Rose's real interests yet in the story, so I'm going to try and add some in the chapter after this, because I already finished this chapter and it's really late. So I'll try and post tomorrow but i can't promise anything because i have a lax game. Thanks again!**

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It was almost midnight by the time we got back from running. We had been out all night, for almost five hours, and we were all exhausted. Usually, we would have all gone out to eat after but since it was so late and it was only five of us, we just decided to all go home and go to bed.

I had been laying in Emily's bed a while, and I couldn't go to sleep. Tomorrow was my last day of school, and I would finally be a junior. I couldn't sleep, and my stomach was growling like crazy. Being a werewolf, we had a very fast metabolism, and I hadn't eaten when we got back from running.

"Emily," I whispered to the sleeping form next to me, "Are you awake?" My friend's loud snoring told me that she was out. "Okay," I said, and got out of bed.

I walked to the door and opened it, quietly closing it behind me. I walked through the hall way and down the back stairs to get to the kitchen. It was cold down stairs, and the fact that I was only wearing a sports bra and some booty shorts didn't help. It was dark, but I didn't want to risk turning on a light a waking someone up. Plus, the full moon outside shone through the windows, giving me enough light to see what I was doing. I opened the freezer and looked for what I needed. Chocolate-chip cookie dough iced cream. Yum.

I took out the ice cream and took a spoon from the drawer, making sure I made no noise in the process. I didn't bother to get a bowl when no one else was eating it with me, so I just sat down at the table and started to eat. I had barely gotten the first spoon full into my mouth when I heard a noise come from the Kitchen door.

"Who's there?" I asked, standing up from the table. I made sure my voice didn't shake in fright. The intruder stepped in front of the sink window and into the light of the moon. Brysdon stood before me with no shirt and some loose-fitting sweat pants.

"Oh," I said in surprise, "I didn't wake you, did I?" Ace had told me that vampires indeed did sleep, so I was happy that I didn't blurt out something stupid like 'How can you wake up when you don't sleep?'. Because trust me, I'm the type of dork who would ask that.

"No," he said in a quiet voice, "I was already up. I couldn't sleep." I was awfully aware that he had no shirt on, and his hard abs and sculpted muscles were absolutely sexy. And then I remembered that I was almost as undressed as he was and I blushed.

"Uh, would you like some?" I asked, pointing toward the ice cream. _Shoot,_ I thought to myself. _Can vampires eat normal food?_

"Sure." _Oh thank god._ I got up from the table and went to the cabinet, passing him on the way there. I was very careful not to touch him, because I was afraid of what might happen. I looked over a saw him watching my every movement, so I put the spoon in his hand and went to sit back down at the table. He looked hesitant at first, so I patted the seat next to me and smiled at him. He walked over and sat down at the head of the rectangular table, so he was sitting next to me, but turned towards me. Our knees were almost touching, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body. That must have meant he fed recently, because vampires are usually cold.

"I never got to thank you for, uh... _saving_ me from Diane," I said to him. I wasn't quite sure how to put it, so I ended up with 'saving' instead of 'helping'.

"No problem," he said as he took a scoop of ice cream. "I know she seemed really nasty to you, but she's not all that bad."

"Why doesn't she like me? I mean, all I did was knock into her in the hallway. I hadn't even talked to her before hand." I took a scoop of ice cream and put it in my mouth. Mmmmm.

"I talked to her after about it. She's just frustrated, that's all. You haven't done anything wrong. I promise," he looked down at me with his gorgeous eyes. _Oh god,_ I thought, _don't faint._

"So," I said, hoping to change the subject, "Do you like it here?"

"I just got here," he reminded me.

"Oh, right." I felt so stupid, and he must have seen that because he looked at me and laughed. His laugh was so comforting, like he was finally letting go a little and loosening up. It was the first time I had seen him smile, and it warmed my heart.

And then the wort thing happened... I yawned.

"You must be tired, you have school tomorrow, don't you?" He asked me. "You should go to bed."

"No, I'm not that tired," I lied. Now that I had eaten, I was starting to get more exhausted by the minute. "Alright, maybe a little.Before I go to bed though, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he said as he started to get up. He took the ice cream and put it back in the freezer while I took the spoons and put them in the sink.

"How old are you?" I had wanted to since the moment I met him. He looked old, but not _that_ much older than me. But then again, vampires didn't start to look old until they were really, **really** old. What if he looked young, but he was really 50 something?

"I'm eighteen," he said. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, but I'll be turning 17 in a couple weeks," I replied. I was hoping once I was seventeen, people would take me more seriously.

"I'll, uh, see you tomorrow...I guess," I said awkwardly as I backed up toward the stairs.

"Goodnight, Rose." His voice was low and cautious.

"Goodnight, Brysdon," I said, and I quickly went up the stairs and back to bed.

The next morning, Emily and I woke up at about 7:10, and considering our school started at 7:25, we were really, really late. I borrowed some of her clothes and we rushed down stairs to eat breakfast.

Almost everyone in the house was downstairs in the kitchen, so it was hard to get breakfast quickly and leave. Thankfully, Frank had known we were going to get up late like always, so he already had cereal in bowls with milk out on the kitchen table. We both sat down at the table and started to speed feed. Emily's mom walked into the kitchen and saw us shoving food into our mouths.

"Oh," she said, "That's very attractive ladies. I told you to go to bed early last night," she looked at her watch, "And now you're late!"

"Chillax mom," Frankie said, "If Emily let's Rose drive, we'll be there in no time." I had just gotten my full license, and I was known by the pack as the 'speed racer'. Emily and I finished our breakfasts and ran outside with Frank right behind us.

"Alright, guys," I said as we got in the car, with me in the drivers seat, "Hold on tight, and put your seat belts on."

"Please, please, please don't reck my car," Emily pleaded as I started the engine. "It's my baby."

"Don't worry," I said, but I knew it didn't ease her. It normally takes 15 minutes to get to school, but I got us there in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. That's a new record.

We climbed out of the car and raced to class, making it just inside the door as the bell rang. Everyone in class laughed and started to clap for me, and I did a little curtsy and thank you signs.

"Okay, Mrs. Fairday," my teacher told me, "Sit down. We all want these finals to be over already."

So the rest of the day I spent talking to friends and taking my finals. At the end of the day, Emily and I met up and did our hand shake (when I give her a high five, she pounds it, and I pound it when she give my a five**(A.N. It's from the movie 'Stick it', and me and my friend really do that lol)** and hugged each other.

"Finally!" Emily said with enthuiasm. "Next year we will finally be upper classmen!" We both did a little geeky squeel and waited for Damien to meet us at our lockers.

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REVIEW PLEASE!


	8. Soccer and Training

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you like this chapter, it took forever to post. The more reviews, the faster I will write. If you like it, that is ,lol.**

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"Well, you two look happy." Damien said as he came in between us and slipped his arms through ours. It was our tradition since elementary school that we all walked out the door together on the last day of school, and in together on the first. Once we stepped outside the door, we all through our arms around each other and had a group hug.

"Let's go get ice cream to celebrate," Emily suggested.

"Well, in that case..." Damien trailed off as we all walked toward Emily's car. Emily texted Frank and told him to catch a ride home with on of the other guys, and then we were off to Ben and Jerry's.

Once we were there, we talked all about the past year and the crazy things that had happened. We were laughing our heads off when we remembered how Suze had pissed off a crazy cheerleader, and they got into a huge fight.

"That was hysterical!" Damien exclaimed. "It's a good thing Erik was there to protect Suze though, or Lauren's (said cheerleader) soccer snob boy toy would have beat her up." Damien laughed and took a big sip of his milkshake.

"Yea," I said half-heartedly, "That was funny." Emily looked at me with an apologetic look on her face. Soccer had always been a sore subject for me. When I found out I was a werewolf, I also found out I couldn't participate in other things that would cause humans danger. Because I'm so strong compared to the humans, I wasn't aloud to play sports anymore. This crushed me. I had always loved to play soccer, and I still do. I had always dreamed I would make my high school team, and eventually move up to Varsity and be captain. I would be the soccer star. And now that will never happen.

Emily knew about my dreams, she was there for me when I was crying my eyes out all of those times. So she quickly changed the subject.

"What about the time when you..." She trailed off to Damien. I wasn't listening anymore, just staring out the window. I started to look around the Ben and Jerry's, and a newspaper article on the table next to us caught my eye.

**TWO MORE KILLINGS IN CENTRAL COLORADO. **I picked up the newspaper and put it on the table.

"Guys, have you heard about this?" I asked my two friends.

"Yea," Emily said, "My dad suspects it's a coven of new vampires." I looked at the article more closely. The last killing had been a town not far from our reservation.

"It's not...?" I trailed off.

"No!" Damien exclaimed. "It's not the vampires here for the Gallient! Have you not been paying attention at all?" I gave him a sheepish look. He blew out a big sigh and continued.

"The vampires that our pack has been friends with for generations don't kill when they feed. Well, they do, but only animals when they really need it. Other wise, they feed in a time of pleasure, remember? The vampires in here," he pointed to the newspaper, " Are vampires that kill. They enjoy the hunt, and go for the kill. These type of vampires are the reason why we are who we are, Rose. To protect humans from _them._"

I had never seen Damien be so serious when talking to me, it had kind of scared me. He wasn't my dad, I didn't need a lecture.

"Well," Emily said, interrupting the silence, "What is our pack going to do about it?"

"They haven't said anything yet, but you know we have training tonight, and they'll probably tell us what's going to happen then," Damien told us. We continued eating our ice cream in silence, and after a while we started telling stories and laughing again. But I was still thinking about the newspaper article, so when they weren't looking, I stuffed it inside my backpack so I could read more later.

Later that afternoon, Emily dropped me off at my house and I went to my room. My walls were painted purple, but my desk and dresser were both black. My room was unique, and I loved it that way. I took off Emily's clothes that I borrowed and put them in the hamper so I could wash them for her, and then went through my dresser. I picked out an under armor cami and some Nike shorts that I could wear to training. I quickly changed and went down stairs to get a snack (I didn't each much ice cream).

"Hey, little sis," Sean said and I walked into the kitchen. He was only my cousin, but he refused to call me 'little cousin' because he said it sounded dumb. "The guys are going to have a soccer game before training in the field, you in?" The field was a big meadow we found in the middle of the woods when we were younger, and we transformed it into a huge soccer field with two goal posts on either end. They guys loved soccer too, and since they couldn't play on high school teams, we played against each other.

"Sure," I said to him. "Just give me two minutes and I'll meet you there."

"Cool," he said, " because I told them you would come anyway." He smiled at me and ran out the back door.

"Little brat," I muttered to myself while laughing.

"What's so funny?" Janice asked as she walked into the room, Shannon trailing behind her.

"Your twin is," I replied (Janice and Sean are twins if you had forgotten). "We're having a soccer game before training, you guys wanna come?" I already knew the answer before I got it.

"You're the only one good in this family beside Sean, why would we want to make fools of ourselves?" Shannon asked.

"No, thanks." Janice murmured. Why couldn't Shannon answer nicely like Janice?

"Suit yourselves," I said. I grabbed two breakfast bars and tied up my hair in a messy bun. I walked out the back door and quickly gobbled down my breakfast bars.

I looked inside myself, and called on my wolf spirit. Within seconds, I was a huge white wolf. The transformation was getting much faster with practice. I took off into the woods as fast as I could. The trees whipped around me and the breeze pushed back the fur on my face. The ground underneath my paws barely made a sound as I raced through the forest towards the field. Once I could see the field through the trees, I slowed down to a jog and went into the sun.

There was a big group of guys in the middle of the field, and two guys standing off to the side. I recognized Sean, Frank, Kellen, Kevin, Erik, Pete, Ryan, John (Kellen's younger brother), and the whole rest of the gang. The two standing off to the side were Sean and Ryan, who were serving as team captains because they were the best players. Ryan is Emily's older cousin, who was the same age and height as Sean. He had dark brown shaggy hair and a scar on his left cheek.

I ran out to the middle of the field, jumped in the air, transformed in the middle of my leap and landed in my human form. Once I turned around to look at the captains, Sean called "I got Rose!"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to stand on his side, to indicate I was on his team.

"No way! You had her last time! Plus, your both strikers and I need a good striker this time!" Ryan exclaimed. "No offense, Kevin."

"None taken," Kevin said. He was a striker too, and I was glad he was good hearted about Ryan's comment.

"Too bad, dude," Sean said, " Now pick." It went on like this for a couple minutes, arguing over who would be on which team, until finally we had an even number on each side and could start playing. Kellen grabbed the ball and put it in the middle of the field. Sean's team consisted of me, Sean, Erik, Pete, and some other werewolves while Ryan's team consisted of Ryan, Kellen, Kevin, John, and the rest of the guys.

"One, two, three," I counted, "Go!" Ryan's team had the ball first, so Kellen kicked off to Ryan and the game started. In regular soccer, there were many rules and penalties you couldn't break, but we didn't play regular soccer. The only rule was that there were no rules. We pushed and punched and pulled, and did whatever to get the ball. We didn't even wear cleats, because we really didn't need them, being werewolves and all.

We played for a while, about 15 minutes, and no one had scored. Sean called a time out and we all walked over to our side of the field.

"Alright," he said, "We need to score, like, now. I want to run the Orange play, got it?" We all nodded vigorously and went back to the field. The orange play was my favorite.

"This is all you, Cuz," Sean said to me. I nodded back and passed the ball to the goalie. The goalie kicked it to Erik, who was playing a defender, who took it up the field. Then he passed to me and off I went. I loved to run, so I took the ball and ran it down the field, doing fakes and nute-megging Kellen. I finally passed it to Sean who took it to the far corner, and then made a perfect cross to me on the other side of the goal. I jumped up and did a drop kick to the incoming ball, slamming it into the upper 90-degree and making a "whoosh" sound. Our team yelled in joy as the guys came and gave me high fives and ruffled my hair.

I ran back to the center field and Sean came up and gave me our high five, low five hand shake, which we did whenever one of us made a goal.

"Goal or what?" This was Sean's way of speaking his approval, like 'Play boy magazine or what?' or 'Maria Carry or what?'. I laughed and thanked the guys as they gave me pats on the back. The game continued for another ten minutes before we had to go to training, so we gathered ourselves and ran into the woods.

The training area was a huge field like the soccer one, but we had cut down trees ourselves to make it bigger. It was about a professional football field in length, and about 200 yards wide. We were about a minute late, so everyone else was there. Vampires included. All together, there were about forty werewolves and thirty vampires. Daniel had gathered everyone to the left side of the field, so we walked over and waited for him to start. He stood up on a rock so he was above everyone and began to speak.

"Welcome everyone," he said in a calm, deep voice, "Today is the first day of the Gallient, as you know, and is also the first day we train together. The Gallient is a festival, but hard work needs to be put in somewhere, and training helps us all to keep up our skills. We will begin to..." he trailed off but I stopped listening. I already knew what he was saying, the training was to help us keep in shape and help our skills blah, blah, blah... so I looked around the circle at all of the people.

I saw the royal family standing beside Daniel, and I noticed another face too. Brysdon was standing next to Gregory, a thoughtful expression on his face. I kept staring at him, and I guessed he noticed because his head suddenly shot up and he looked me straight in the eye. I blushed and looked down at my feet, embarrassed that he had caught me looking at him.

"So go with your groups and we can start training," Daniel finally concluded. _Crap,_ I thought, _I wasn't listening._

"He put you with me, honey," Emily said, taking my hand and walking toward our group. I am always thankful that Emily listens. We started to talk and laugh as we headed over to the group Daniel assigned us to, so I wasn't paying attention when I realized where we were.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "He put us in the ring!" The Ring was my favorite training activity. There was a huge circle, the ring, that was about 20 yards in diameter. There were two people who were in the ring, and the point was to try and get the other person's whole body out of the ring. It was my favorite because you didn't have to be really big and strong, like most of the guys were, you just had to move extremely quick. I always dodged the attacks, and waited until my component got tired, then I would have a big burst of energy and surprise them, and finally push them out of the ring.

Emily and I listened as her dad explained the rules to the vampires and wolves who hadn't done it before.

"Rose," he said looking at me, "come demonstrate with me." I stepped into the middle of the ring and took my wolf form. Emily's dad stepped in and we showed everyone how it was done in slow motion, and how to properly fight your opponent. He let the beginners go first, so Emily and I just sat back as people volunteered to fight each other.

"Okay," Jona said, "Why don't you step in Rose?" I grinned at Emily and walked into the middle of the circle. "Who wants to fight Rose?"

No one raised his or her hand.

"Anyone? Anyone at all?" Jona asked our group. I smiled sheepishly at him, knowing no one wanted to get hurt. I don't want to sound conceded, but I loved this activity. I was **good** at it. "Oh come on guys," he said, looking desperate. "She can't do _that_ much harm to you." No one volunteered.

"I'll do it," I heard a voice from the back of the crowd. Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice, and people in the crowd parted. It was Brysdon.

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Review!


	9. AN!

Hey guys

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've update. I've written most of the next chappie, trust me, I just need to get to finishing it and then posting it. I'll be at the beach this weekend but I'll try and get it up by Tuesday. Thanks for all the reviews!! -Molly Rose**


	10. Cheater!

**YAy! I updated! I know i said i would but i really didn't believe myself hahaha. I'm back from the beach and I totally skipped school today so i had time to finish this. I kno, I kno its short, but I need to work on hmwk and stuff. I'm going to start writing the next chapter now, though, I promise. The party should be good!**

**Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are great!! And thanks for all the threats of shooting me or strangling me or using your squirls to attack me (haha) if i didnt update. Encouragment! Please review!!**

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Brysdon stepped through the crowd and into the ring, standing only a few feet a way from me.

"Excellent!" Jona called. "You can start when you're ready." I changed into my wolf form and walked over to my side of the ring. I crouched down and got in my fighting stance, while Brysdon did the same thing.

I tried not to think about who my component was. _Just focus Rose, you can do this._

We just stood there for a few minutes, waiting to see who was going to make the first move. Then all of a sudden, Brysdon lunged at my so quickly I would have missed it if I blinked. Right before he was about to make contact with me I dodged out of the way. He landed in back of me with a growl. I knew that was just a test, he wanted to see how quick I was. Before he could turn around I ran at him, hoping to take his feet down, but he grabbed the fur on my back and threw me a couple of yards. Okay, that pissed me off.

I let out a ferocious growl, and waited for his next move. I kept to my usually strategy, ducking and weaving as he kept coming at me, hoping that he would give up. But I found out that vampires didn't get tired as easily as werewolves do. Usually a match would only take five minutes, but I could feel the minutes going by as we kept moving at each other, trying to push the other out of the ring.

On one attack Brysdon almost had me out, he had most of his weight pushing against me, trying to move my body out of the ring. All of a sudden, I ducked to the ground and his body flew right over mine, almost out of the ring. I tried to push him out, but he grabbed my legs and I landed on the ground with him. I suddenly got up, took his leg in my mouth, and threw him across the ring. I stood there crouching, waiting for him to get up and attack again. But he didn't get up. He just lay there on the ground face down. I looked around to see Emily staring at him with the same confused expression as I had, and I also noticed we had formed quite an audience.

I very carefully walked over to him, making sure I was ready for his attack. I nudged his hand with my muzzle, and nothing happened. I patted him on the shoulder with my paw, and nothing happened. I wondered if I had knocked him out, but then I didn't think vampires could get knocked out. Could they?

In a fraction of a second, Brysdon got up at grabbed my torso, picking me up and hauling me out of the ring. How could I fall for that? I was a fraction of a second a way of being out of the ring, and Brysdon was coming at me quickly. I knew it was over, I knew he had me. So I did the only thing I could and braced my self for the force that I no doubt knew was going to come. Only when we came in contact, _I_ ended up pushing _him_ out of the ring, not the other way around.

His whole body landed out of the ring, and our audience started to applause. I changed into my human form and Jona came up to me to raise my hand, "Rose is the winner!" he said.

I couldn't help but stare as Brysdon got up off the ground and looked at me. I was shocked into silence.

He let me win.

I couldn't believe it, he freaking _let me win. _How dare he? Did he not think I couldn't take losing, that I was weak? We both knew I was going to lose, but now everyone thought I had miraculously beat this older, stronger vampire in the ring. And it wasn't true.

I just stared at him, and he gave me a slight smile and disappeared through the crowd. The rest of the training session went by quickly, as our group moved through the different stations and practicing our fighting. At the end, Daniel dismissed us all and reminded us that tonight we were having a cook out on the lake. Emily, Damien, and I were disappointed to hear that they hadn't said anything about the new vampire coven, but Emily said she would talk to her dad about it.

It was about five thirty when I left the field, and it had started pouring rain. I was going to turn into my wolf form because it would take so much faster to get back to my house, but I decided to just walk. I thought better when I was in my human form, and I wanted to just enjoy the rain. It was only about 5 miles from my house, and I had done it before.

I was about a mile away from the house when I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around quickly, but saw something flash to my side. I turned in that direction but saw nothing there either. Someone's following me, I thought. I heard another footstep behind me again, so I turned around and lunged at who ever it was, hitting them and knocking us both to the ground.

I found Brysdon staring up at me, and my face was only a few centimeters from his. My hair was soaked from the rain, and raindrops from my hair were dropping onto his face. I had landed on top of him, and his hands were now rested on my waist.

"Oh!" I said as I realized it was him. "You were following me!" I accused him, still aware of how close our faces were.

He chuckled. "I just wanted to accompany you home," he said in a light voice, "These woods are dangerous you know." I got off of him and we both sat up. It was quiet for about a minute except for the sound of pouring rain.

"You cheated," I said all of a sudden, becoming a little bit annoyed.

"Excuse me?" He asked, clearly confused at what I had said.

"Today, in the ring. You cheated."

"Rose, you won the match. Why would you acc-" I cut him off.

"You let me win," I said, making sure that the annoyance showed in my tone. He started at me for the longest time, taking in my expression and tone.

"I didn't think you would notice," he said quietly, "Why does it bother you?"

"I can take care of myself you know," I said sharply. "I've been in the ring a hundred times before and most of those times I've won!" I was breathing really hard at the end due to my yelling. All the anger that I had inside about people treating me like a little kid came out. I immediately realized how much of a bitch I was being, and started to apologize.

"I'm sorry," I said in a rush. "I didn't mean that, really, I didn't. I'm just sick of people not taking me seriously."

"I take you seriously," he said softly.

"If you took me seriously, you wouldn't have let me win," I pointed out. I started to turn around and walk to my house but he caught my arm and spun me around.

"Look," he said, "I was just trying to help. I'm sorry."

Ok, now I felt bad. I was being bratty and he was just trying to help. Geez, what's wrong with me?

"It's okay," I tried to laugh, but it came out more of a breathless sigh, "Are you coming back to the house?"

"I'm actually going to go hunt before the party," he said looking off into the forest, "Unless you want me to walk you back?" I tried not to snap at him again about treating me like a five year old.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks though. Have...uh...," I was going to say 'have fun', but I wasn't quite sure how 'fun' it could be. He started to laugh at my loss of words, and the sound was a deep and bubbly.

"I'll see you at the party tonight," he said, turning around, "You will be there, right?"

"Ya, I'll be there."

"Good," he said, and then sprinted off into the forest.

_Good?_ What the hell is that suppose to mean? Good that I'll be there? Good that he wants to see me? Good that the conversation was finally over? Good that I want to rip your clothes off? Good... Ugh.

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Next one will be longer! review!


	11. Very

**Hey guys! This one is kinda short, but I really didn't want to wait to update til like, the middle of next week, so I just posted a new chapter. I have to go to my soccer game so I gotta make this short, THANK YOU REVIEWERS! I FREGGIN LOVE YOU GUYS! AND HAPPY B-DAY ALLIE! Okay thanks, review!**

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"Rose!" I swear, Shannon could cause an avalanche with the voice.

"Yes, dearest cousin?" I called back. I was in my room with a towel wrapped around my body, trying to pick out an outfit for the party, that was in about an hour. I knew the first night was more of a summer theme with dancing and a barbeque, so girls would have to wear summer dresses. Nothing too formal, but still nice. I was deciding between a red dress and a purple one when Shannon bust through my door.

"Have you seen my yellow flats? I know you borrowed them last week," she said sternly. She was wearing a yellow and white summer dress that looked really cute on her, not that I would tell her that.

"Yeah, I put them back in your closet," I answered.

"Well they're not there! Are you sure?"

"No. Actually, I gave them to Damien because he thought they were cute," I said sarcastically, "Of course I'm sure! I promise." She knew I meant my promise, so she stomped out of my room angrily.

I decided on the red dress with the spaghetti straps and the v-shape neckline and cut right above my knees. I put it on and then went into the bathroom to blow dry my hair. I just blew it dry and let it fall into its loose natural curls around my shoulders. I didn't bother with make-up; I knew it would just come off anyway. So I slipped on my red flats and walked out my door and started down the stairs.

I walked into the kitchen and read the big coo-coo clock on the wall. We had only twenty minutes to leave, and it seemed like no one was ready but me. I grabbed my copy of _Twilight_ by Stephenie Meyer and sat down at the kitchen table and started to read.

"Haven't you read that book like, eighty times?" Sean asked as he walked into the kitchen. He was wearing a blue and white polo with some nice kaki pants, a brown belt and brown sandals.

"No," I said quickly, "Ah, well...yes. So what?" It was my favorite book, and I loved how it was about vampires and werewolves. Ironic, I know.

"I can't believe you like reading so much. It's boring," he said as he leaned against the counter and took an apple from the fruit bowl.

"You shouldn't bash something until you try it, buddy. Oh wait, I'm sorry, do you know how to read?"

"Ha, ha," he said sarcastically. I stood up and put my book on the counter next to him.

"You look nice," he said, looking me from head to toe, "What's the occasion?"

"The party?" I said in a 'duh' voice.

"Oh, come on," he said as if it was so obvious, "You don't ever dress up this nicely for the werewolves. It's cause the vamps are here, isn't it?"

"No!" I said defensively. "It's my first Gallient, you know that. I just want to look nice, that's all. Are you saying I don't usually look nice?"

"No, it's just..." he trailed off, but didn't finish because Janice walked into the kitchen. She was wearing pink dress that I had loaned to her, and she didn't quite fill it out, but it did look awfully cute. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail at the back of her neck, and she was wearing white high heels.

"I told you that dress would look great on you," I said as she walked over to us.

"Thank you, Rose," she said quietly, "You look beautiful." That's why she's my favorite cousin. Besides Sean, of course.

"Alright let's go!" Called Ace as he walked into the kitchen. "If we don't leave now, we're going to be late! Let's go Shannon," he yelled up the stairs.

We all piled into the car and headed off toward the park. The party was being held on Patrick's land (250 acres, yes I know, a lot right?), in a small park that was next to a beautiful lake. It took about twenty minutes to get there, so we were about ten minutes late when we got there. But it was fashionably late, as Shannon pointed out.

We walked along the trail that led us to the park, and when we got there I almost gasped. There were picnic tables everywhere, decorated with colorful table clothes and center pieces of flowers. There was a huge space in the middle of the park, no doubt for dancing, and a small wooden stage in front of the lake. A huge buffet table was set up to the left, with tons of delicious food waiting to be eaten. I could smell the barbeque smell, hot dogs and hamburgers that were being made.

It was past sunset, so there were lanterns and lights hanging everywhere, giving the party a beautiful glow. We walked over to a table and put our things down, and then started to mingle. I found Emily immediately, due to her bright blue dress and red hair.

"Hey girlfriend!" She called and she came over a hugged me. "You look hot!" I laughed and returned the compliment.

"Where's Damien?" I asked, looking around the crowd.

"He was with my brother two seconds ago. They're probably off talking to the other guys," she said like she didn't really care. She turned around and looked at me in the eyes with an expression I couldn't really place.

"What?" I asked her wearily.

"Well, I was thinking, you know we have a stage tonight, right? And a band is here, and they're really good. They can play anything we want..." she trailed off. And then what she was saying dawned on me.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no!" I said to her, putting my hands up in a surrendering position.

"Oh, come on Rose!" she cried, "You have the best voice here! You would only have to sing one little song, it would be great," she said. I had always loved to sing, and I had a pretty good voice, I knew. But singing at my piano, or in front of Emily and the guys was much more different from singing in front of everyone at the Gallient.

"Rose! You're such a baby," she exhaled sharply, "Plus, I already told them you would sing," she smiled triumphantly.

"I don't have anything prepared!" I said, "I haven't practiced! Plus, you're a better singer than I am!" I cried, and it was true, Emily had a great voice.

"You don't need to! Listen, just don't worry about it. Go mingle with the others and dance and eat, and Damien and I will come get you when the band is ready for you. Okay?" She looked at me with puppy dog eyes that I couldn't refuse.

"You're the devil," I said, giving in.

"Who's the devil?" I heard a voice ask from behind us. I turned around to see Gregory come and stand in front of Emily and I.

"Hello, Prince Gregory," I said and Emily nodded her head.

"Please, just call me Greg," he said with a smile. He looked very nice in a white dress shirt and some light washed jeans. "You two ladies look wonderful tonight," he said to us.

"Thank you," I said, as Emily giggled. "I'm going to go, uh...eat. Why don't you take Emily to the dance floor Greg?" I said as I started to back away. Emily gave me an alarming look, as a smiled a winked at her.

"Well, if you don't mind," the Prince said, as he took Emily's hand and pulled her to the dance floor, where people were laughing and clapping to an old Hungarian, line dance song that was playing. I walked over to my table and sat down.

I looked around the party, searching for different friends and family, what they were wearing and whom they were dancing with. People came up to me and talked to me, and my uncle insisted I dance with a few of the guys. But there was one person I was looking out for.

Emily had come back from dancing with Greg, and we were nibbling on some of our food at our table. Ace suddenly looked behind me, so I turned around and saw the king, queen, prince, and Brysdon standing behind us.

"Good evening, Ace," Hannah said to Ace. We all stood up to greet the royal family, and I notice Brysdon wearing a similar outfit to Greg's, only darker. Of course.

"You ladies look lovely tonight," James said, "And my son has told me you are a wonderful dancer, Miss Emily." _Oh my gosh_, I thought. I looked at Emily to see her blushing like crazy and mumbling a 'thank you'.

"Oh, I love this song!" Hannah cried, as an old, Hungarian lullaby started to play. It was beautiful, and couples started to ask each other out onto the dance floor and slow dance. "Your mother and father would always dance to this song, Rose," Hannah said to me. I knew the song, my parents had always played it when I was little, and my brother would always hum it to me when I was scared.

"Brysdon, why don't you ask this young lady to dance," James said, motioning to me.

"Oh, I really don't think..." I started, but Hannah grabbed my hand and put it in Brysdon's, and gave us a little shove toward the dance floor. I started to tell him he really didn't have to, but he gave my hand a firm grip and pulled me to the middle of the floor.

I put my right hand in his and put my left hand on the back of his neck, while he put his other hand on my lower back. We stared to sway to the music, and once we got comfortable, he pulled me closer to him.

"I'm sorry about that," he whispered in my ear, "The queen can be a little...aggressive, sometimes."

"There's no need to apologize," I laughed quietly. "You seem very close to their family."

"I am," he replied. "Hannah and James are very much like my Mom and Dad, and Greg like a brother."

"I know what you mean," I said softly. I pulled back a little to look into his eyes. "Even though Emily and I aren't related, I feel like her parents are my parents, and her brother is my brother."

"It's wonderful to be surrounded by people you love," he said. His big black eyes were looking into mine intensely, "Especially when you have lost some. I'm sorry about what happened to your parents," he said deeply, "I know how you feel."

"Do you?" I asked, looking at his shoulder.

"Yes," he replied, "I lost my mother when I was young, too." That part surprised me. I looked up sharply to see him staring at our hands, and I noticed how big his was to my small one.

"It's hard, isn't it?" I asked, knowing completely how he felt.

"Yes, it is. But like I said, we're lucky to have those who love us," he said.

"Lucky," I agreed smiling. I leaned my head against his shoulder and felt him tense.

For a second I was afraid he was going to draw back, but then he whispered, "Very."

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**Review!**


	12. AN! Soon!

**Will update soon! Haha, sorry, just wanted to inform all of you loyal reviewers, I just haven't had time yet. Update by Monday!**


	13. Someone's watching over me

**Hey guys! I updated! Yay! Hope you like it! Happy Birthday Brian, and Dad, and Abby, and Ricky, and Carrie, and Cathy and any reviews who have a birthday this week (it seems like half the population is born in the first week of may, right?) !!**

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Brysdon and I finished dancing in comfortable silence, swaying back and forth to the music with my head rested on his shoulder. At the end of the lullaby, I stepped away from him (reluctantly), and started clapping with everyone else.

I tried to ignore the fact that I knew people were whispering around Brysdon and I, but my sensitive werewolf hearing picked up bits and pieces of people's conversations around us.

"...absolutely beautiful..." I heard two vampire females whispering.

"...just like her mother and father..." I heard an old werewolf couple say. I didn't know how to feel about what they were saying. I felt a little sting in my heart when I heard them talk about my parents, but I was also happy to be compared to my mom. Brysdon grabbed my hand and walked me back to the table where everyone was waiting.

"That was gorgeous you two!" Elizabeth cried, as Brysdon let go of my hand and I sat down next to Frank. I mumbled thanks and tried to cover my face with my hair because of how much I was blushing.

"Where's Emily?" I asked, noticing she wasn't at the table with her family. I looked around to see Greg talking to Diane near the food table, but Emily wasn't with them.

"She's dancing," Frank replied, taking a bite into his ribs. There was another slow song on again, and people were swaying on the dance floor.

"Dancing? With who?" I said, taking a sip of my grape soda.

"Sean," he replied. I almost spit my drink out. Sean? What the hell?

Now don't get me wrong, it's not the weirdest thing in the world, but Sean isn't that big on dancing, especially slow dancing. And with my best friend? Creepy.

"Who made them?" I asked him in a kidding tone, even though I was completely serious. Someone must have made them, or at least suggested it, like Hannah had done to Brysdon and me.

"No one," Frank said, looking at me suspiciously, "Sean just came over and asked her to dance, and she said yes." _Huh,_ I thought, _that's cute, I guess._ I looked out on the dance floor and saw them in each other's arms, dancing. It looked like Sean had just stepped on her foot and they were laughing at how bad he was. It was like in sixth grade when all your friends had a big crush on your older brother. I ignored them for the time being and started to eat my food, until my uncle cleared his throat.

"Rose," he said, "Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, getting up and following him away from the main party near the lake. He stopped abruptly and turned around, looking at me in the eyes. I didn't notice until then how... mad, he looked.

"What's wrong, Ace?" I asked him, going through all the bad things I had done in the last twenty-four hours to see what I could be in trouble for.

"I'm worried about you, Rose."

"What for?"

"You, spending so much time with the vampire boy. I overheard the King and Queen talking, they were saying how much he seems to be drawn to you." He finished with an angry tone, but I couldn't help the smile that slid across my face.

"Really? Which one?" I asked, even though we both knew which one.

"This isn't good Rose," he said, "You know the rules, you can't get involved with a vampire. Especially with the Prince's right hand man! As much as I think they are good people, they can be dangerous!" He put both hands on my shoulders and looked at me. "I don't want you getting hurt Rose. Don't get attached, do you understand? I want you to stay away from him, even if he is living us. Just ignore him."

"But Ace, we're only friends! We haven't even talked that much! I'm not going to-" I said, but my uncle cut me off.

"I don't care!" He said. "There are plenty of other male _werewolves_ in this tribe that seek you out, any of them could make a great mate for you. Now please, go back to the table and talk to Emily." He turned away abruptly and walked back to the party.

Why was he doing this? I couldn't believe him; he was treating me like a child again. What did he think I was going to do? Go elope with Brysdon? Hello, I didn't have a death wish! I was so mad!

But I couldn't deny that part of me sad, sad that I wasn't aloud to see Brysdon anymore. That didn't mean I wasn't going to, by any means, it just meant I couldn't talk to him in front of most of the pack. Great.

I walked back to the party in time to see Emily and Sean come back from the dance floor. Damien was also there, and he gave me a look that said 'Is everything okay?'. 'I'll tell you later' I mouthed back.

"Okay, Rosie Posie!" Emily said, clapping her hands together. "Are you ready?"

"For what?" I said, still peeved at my uncle.

"To sing dummy! The band is ready for you!" She cried, as she took my hand a led me towards the stage.

"Ugh, Emily! I'm really not in the mood, plus, I don't know what I'm going to sing," I said to her. I wanted to tell her about what Ace said but I didn't have any time with her pulling me to the stage.

"I told them you were singing 'Someone's Watching Over Me'," She said as she pulled me up the stairs and onto the middle of the stage. 'Someone's watching over me' was a slow song by Hillary Duff, which she sung in the movie _Raise Your Voice_. Emily and I weren't exactly Hillary Duff fans or anything like that, we just loved the movie. Plus, the song always made me feel good, and I could relate. In the movie, the main character's brother died, and she was really close to him. It's about her finding herself and getting over her brothers death. But that's pretty much the only thing that the main girl and I have in common, besides the fact that the boy she likes it a total hottie.

"Just sing Rose, please?" Emily said, and walked off the stage. "Oh," she called over her shoulder, "Play the piano, too."

"Excuse me, Miss," I heard, and I turned around to see a man from the band talking to me, "Miss Emily said you would be singing and playing the piano, and we're ready if you want to start now."

"Okay," I said, "You know how to play it right? All there is besides the piano and my voice are the drums and the guitar." He seemed really nice and I didn't want to take out my anger on him.

"Yes, ma'am. When you're ready." I walked over and sat down at the piano and a hush fell over the crowd. I never really had stage fright before, but now my knees were starting to shake a little.

"Get'em Rose!" I heard a shout from the crowd, and I turned to see Sean whooping with his friends for me. A laughed a little and started to play the piano, and the guitarist cued in.

"_I found myself today,_

_Oh, I found myself,_

_And ran, away,_

_Something pulled me back,_

_Voice of reason I forgot I had,"_

I continued singing the next verse slowly, and I could feel everyone watching me. The adrenaline rush kicked in, and I was starting to feel confident and kept singing and went on to the chorus.

"_So I won't give up,_

_No I won't break down,_

_Soon I bet it seems life turns around,_

_And I will be strong,_

_Even if it alls goes wrong,_

_When I'm standin' in the dark I'll still believe,_

_Someone's watching over me,"_

I looked out into the crowd and saw my family. I saw Ace and Sean smiling proudly, I saw Emily and Damien linking arms watching me grinning, and I also saw the royal family there. But I also saw Brysdon watching me, and I stared right at him when I sung the next part to prove a point to everyone.

"_It doesn't matter what people say,_

_And it doesn't matter how long it takes,_

_Believe in yourself, and you'll flyy-yyyy,_

_It only matters how true you are,_

_Be true to yourself, and follow your heart,"_

I loved singing the chorus, feeling like my parents and my brother were there in the crowd.

"_So I won't give up,_

_No I won't break down,_

_Soon I bet it seems life, turns around,_

_And I will be strong,_

_Even if it all goes wrong,_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe,_

"_That I won't give up!_

_No I won't break down_

_Soon I bet it seems life, turns around,_

_And I will be strong!_

_Even when it all goes wrong!_

_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe,_

_That someone's watching over,_

_Someone's watching over,_

_Someone's watching over me,"_

I finished the song with a long confident note and I stood up. It was quiet at first, and then the crowd burst into applause. I laughed a little at my nervous energy, and then I grabbed the guitarist and the drummer's hands and we took a bow. I told them thanks and walked down the stair back to my table.

Damn that felt good.

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**Review!**


	14. Favorites

**Yay! Now that lacrosse season in OVER, I have much more time to write! I really liked writing this chapter, and I hope you guys like it, or I might cry :(... so please read and review! Shanks ya! -Molly Rose**

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For the rest of the party, I hung out with all of my family and friends, trying to ignore Ace as best as I could. Overall, it was really fun, and it set the Galient off on a good foot. I had met up with Emily and Damien and told them all about the little 'speech' Ace gave me. We all left around eleven thirty, and I was finally in bed by midnight. Once I hit my pillow, I was fast asleep.

I was having a nice dream, with me, Emily, my brother and Sean when we were all little, having fun and playing, when my alarm blasted off.

"_Throw it away!_

_Forget yesterday!_

_We'll make the great escape!"_

"What the hell?" I muttered, as I leaned over and pressed the snooze alarm. It said four thirty a.m. Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm not the type of person to be waking up at four freaking thirty in the morning, especially during the summer. I started to turn off my alarm completely, thinking it made a mistake, when my door opened.

"Up and at 'um, kiddo," Ace said in a cheery voice. I put my pillow over my face and moaned into it. "Come on," he said, pulling off my covers, "Time to get up!"

"Why was my alarm set at four thirty? And why am I getting up?" I said, shivering from the cold morning air.

"You have patrol this morning," he said in a 'duh' type of voice.

Patrol is what we werewolves do, guarding the forest and making sure no vampires are near. I hadn't been a werewolf long enough to have actually seen one until the Galient, and even when there's a rouge vamp near, the guys always get to it first. We always take shifts doing guard, and there is always eight wolves on duty, two in the north side, two in the south side, two on the east side, and two on the west side.

"I do not have patrol!" I said angrily. "I checked with Daniel last night!"

"Well, we have changed it. The vampires are going to pair up with you to see how it works and to help." And _that_, my folks, immediately perked me up.

"I'm going to have a vampire paired up with me?" I asked. Please, please, please be who I want it to be.

"Yes, now get up and get dressed, I don't have all day," He said, and walked out of the room.

I quickly got up and put on a sports bra, t-shirt and sweat pants then ran to the bathroom to put my hair in a pony tail, wash my face and brush my teeth.

"Okay," I said, hopping down the stairs into the kitchen. I grabbed a big mug and filled it with coffee to wake me up, then grabbed two pieces of bread and popped them in the toaster. "I'm almost ready. Who's my partner?"

"You're with," _Oh please, oh please be him,_ I thought, "…Justin." _Damn, who is Justin?_ "And you're on the north side today. Take your cell phone with you so people can contact you. Now, go."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, finishing my coffee and toast. I walked out of the door, forgetting my cell, and changed into my wolf form then started sprinting for the woods.

Of course he would make sure I wasn't with Brysdon. How could I have even expected it after our little talk last night? He probably convinced Daniel to never put us on patrol together.

I got to the little spot in the woods, about three miles north of Daniel's house, where I always went first when I had north side patrol. I would usually stay in one spot for ten minutes, listening and smelling and usually just being bored or talking to my partner. _Where is this Justin guy, _I thought to myself.

About five minutes later, I heard someone running from a mile away. I knew they were in human form from the sound of it, so it must be Justin. I sat down and leaned back against a tree, then took a stick off the ground and started carving it with Frank's Swiss army knife that I kept under a rock there. My partner was getting closer and closer, until I could see a figure running towards me. However, I didn't see some random vamp running towards me, I saw Brysdon.

He kept running and then slowed down when he was a couple yards away from me.

"Hi," I said standing up, surprised he was there.

"Hello," he answered back, "I hope you don't mind me being your partner this morning. Justin had to hunt, so I volunteered to take his place."

"Oh, I don't mind at all," I said, sitting back down against the tree. "You really don't have to be here if you don't want to be though. It's not as if there is going to be much to do on Patrol right now. You can go back, if you want." I didn't want him to feel as if he had to stay, or have to come because this Justin guy couldn't.

"I don't mind," he said, sitting against a tree next to mine, "This gives me a chance to rest. And for us to talk some more."

I couldn't read the emotions on his face, but he seemed sincere when he said he wanted to talk to me. He leaned his head back against the tree, and I looked at him for the first time that morning. He was wearing a white beater and gray sweat pants, like mine, with no shoes on.

"You were really good, you know," he said, catching me off guard.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"Last night, at the party. You're a very talented singer."

"Thank you," I said, liking the feeling of him giving me a compliment.

"Do you sing all the time?"

"I have a piano at home, that use to be my mom's, and when I have free time I try to sing and write music, but that's pretty much it," I said, embarrassed that I had admitted that. I would only play when no one else was around to hear me.

"Your mother use to sing?" He asked, opening his eyes and looking at me.

"From what I remember, yes," I said, "But what about your parents?" He had mentioned them the night before, about how he had lost his mother, but nothing else. Plus, I didn't want to talk about my mother, I was missing her a lot lately.

"Like I said before, my mother was killed when I was younger, and my father is still in our coven. He is second in command, next to the King."

"Is that why you and Greg are such good friends?" I asked him.

"Yes, and the fact that we always got along when we were little. He was there for me when my mother died." His voice lowered as he said it, but I couldn't stop the questions from coming out.

"How did your mother die?" I asked him. He took a deep breath before answering carefully.

"She was killed by a pack of werewolves," he said, "I don't know which ones, I don't think anyone does." He leaned his head against the tree again. "It was hard to convince my father to come here for the Galient; he has the biggest grudge against werewolves. You're lucky Ace doesn't hold it against all vampires for killing your parents, it's not a pretty site to see someone you love hate something with such a passion," he said carefully, "Especially when you…don't. Feel that way, I mean." He looked at me again, and we just stared at each other for a little before I looked away first.

"Do you know how to play the game Favorites?" I blurted out suddenly, still looking at the ground.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's when I list something, and then you have to tell me your favorite type of that certain thing, then I tell you my favorite." Emily and I always played it when we were bored; just to make sure there were no gaps in our relationship.

"Okay," he said, turning towards me and sitting cross legged, "Let's play." So we started listing our favorite animals, books, music, and so on, and it turned out we either liked the same thing, or polar opposites which made it very interesting. At one point, we started talking about languages.

"My favorite is Italian," I said, "It's so beautiful."

"Giusto come voi," he said, in a very sexy accent.

"What was that?"

"Italian." He answered.

"You can speak it? Oh, I wish I could. Say my name in Italian, please?" I begged.

"Non dovete elemosinare, Rosa," he said. I loved the way he said Rosa.

"What does that mean?"

"What's your favorite sport?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Fine," I said in a huff, "I'll just find out later." He laughed at my whining and asked his question again.

"I like to play soccer, a lot. If I weren't…you know, a werewolf, I would try out for my high school team. What about you?"

"I never went to school; our coven found there was no need to put us in a human environment. We always had tutors, but we only learned the basics, so I was never really exposed to sports. Soccer seems fun though." He seemed a little put down when he talked about school, and I didn't understand why.

"You only learned the basics?" I asked him.

"Yes, my father found it more important for me to learn…other types of knowledge. Like how to use my senses to the extreme, things like that. I have always wanted to go to school though, to learn." That was the first time I had heard someone say that they had always wanted to go to school, but I understood why. I always took school for granted; I hadn't realized how lucky I was in that way I guess.

"We should probably change our position now. There's a spot I always move to for the second half of my shift, it's about two miles from here. You ready?" I asked him, standing up and taking my wolf form.

He nodded and waited for me to lead the way, and I started to jog through the forest. I stayed at a steady pace at first making sure I wasn't going to fast, but the whole time he stayed right beside me. I started to speed up a little, and I guess he noticed because he looked down at me and smiled. Before long, we were sprinting through the forest, dodging trees and jumping over logs. When I could see the water from about a hundred yards away, I started to slow down my pace. We both slowed down to about a jog and then I walked through the last line of trees and into the clearing.

I had found this place last year when I was playing tag with the other guys, and I was trying to hide. It was a small clearing in the middle of the woods, and it had a large, clear pond in the center, with a huge waterfall coming off of the cliff face. Being early in the morning, the sun was about to rise which made the place have a wonderful glow. It was gorgeous, and I would often come here to think or swim when I had north side shift. Yea, I know, I'm a total slacker.

"Wow," Brysdon said from beside me, his lower arm was touching the fur on my shoulder, "This place is beautiful. Do you come here often?"

I nodded my head because I still hadn't changed from my wolf form back to my human form. I walked over to the water and took a few sips from the pond, then sat down on the bank. Brysdon came and sat down beside me. He lifted his hand up over my head, then looked at my face, asking for permission. I nodded again, telling him it was okay, and he started to stroke my back. I purred in pleasure and closed my eyes.

He laughed and said, "Feels good?" I nodded my head in response. "Your fur is so soft, and the color is beautiful, too."

We sat in companionable silence for a couple minutes, me purring while he stroked my back. I couldn't help but feel comfortable around him, which was an unusual thing considering I was a werewolf and he was a vampire. He was so nice, and easy to talk to, and…oh gosh, I'm starting to fall for him. I could feel it. This is bad, bad, bad, bad.

I stood up and stretched, and finally took my human shape. "Wanna go swimming?" I asked, already starting to head for the cliff. I didn't wait for his response, and started climbing the cliff side until I got to the top. I started to take off my t-shirt and sweats, so I was just in my sports bra and underwear.

"Impressive," I told him, noticing he climbed the cliff face in half the time it took me to.

"One of the few perks to being a vampire," he said, as he took off his shirt. I laughed while he took off his sweats, and I took the opportunity to scan over his body. His chest and stomach areas were big and muscular, while his broad shoulders were connected to long, toned biceps. He was a little paler than when I saw him in the woods yesterday, probably because he hadn't hunted since then.

"You ready?" I asked him, once he was in his boxers. Without warning me, he grabbed my hand and jumped off the waterfall, into the water below.

**Read and review! Love you! (haha that rhymed)**


	15. Stupid cell phones

**Okay, you should so be proud of me. Two chapters in two days! Maybe I just suck at writing and I'm in denial...but that's not going to stop me now! Thanks for all that reviewed (Josh T., rainy-days-don't-go-away, creative-writing-girl, Akari-Akahana, MandaMassacre, TeenyJewel, Because-of-you14, AngelSoldier 666, Aeieo). I freakin love you guys! My friend told me she would bake me a cake if i can get 150 reviews, so thats my goal! Love you guys, Molly Rose (p.s. im about to go get Host from Borders, is it good?)**

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I held my breath as I plunged into the water, opening my eyes when I was finally submerged. The water was so clean and clear that I could see all the way to the bottom, but it was still a little chilly. I knew that if I were a human I would have gone into hypothermia by now, but being a werewolf I could stand much cooler temperatures. The cold water actually woke me up, and I was glad I went in. I swam to the surface and rubbed my eyes to get the water off my face, then looked around for Brysdon.

"Brysdon?" I called out, not seeing him at first. I turned around in a circle and I still didn't see him. "Brysdon?" I called again, still not spotting him. At first I was a little worried, but then I remembered he was a vampire and couldn't have possibly gotten hurt, even if he hit his head on a rock or something. Out of no where, I felt a hand grab my food under water, and I realized to late what he was doing before I was pulled underwater completely.

I opened my eyes once he let go, and I saw him underwater in front of me, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back, but I wasn't going to let it go that easily. Growing up with a bunch of guys had its advantages, and one of them was learning how to make people uncomfortable. I reached over and acted as if I was touching his cheek, then I reached down and jabbed his neck near his atoms apple. This was a trick I learned from Kevin when I was little. It made the person take a deep breath, and being underwater, it wasn't a fun experience.

Brysdon took a deep gulp of water and rushed to the surface. I swam after him and hit the surface, and I could hear him coughing and gagging up water. I couldn't help but laugh, and I felt a little sorry for him. But it wasn't as if it was going to hurt him. He was a vampire after all.

"That was a dirty trick," He said, after he had his breath back. I couldn't help but laugh again, and then I started to float on my back.

"That's what you get for scaring me," I said. Stroking my arms in the water so I started moving backwards.

"Okay, okay. No more scaring Rosie," he said. The bubble of laughter in his voice made it sound deep and rich.

"Don't call me that," I told him.

"What?" He said, "You don't like Rosie? Rosie Posie?" It was so nice to see him kidding around; I wasn't use to this Brysdon. But I liked it.

"Oh, that sounds so...girly."

"But you are girly," he told me.

"Yea, but that sounds like Barbie-princess-put-my-hair-in-pig-tails girly. Plus, I'm not _that_ girly." Okay, I liked clothes and boys and stuff, but I also like sports and playing guitar hero with the guys, too. I grew up with a bunch of guys for goodness sake; I needed some girl in me.

"I know you aren't. I like that about you. You have a little bit of everything." The moment started to take a serious turn, so I stopped floating on my back and swam over towards him until we were only about a foot apart. "I just wish that-", he was going to finish his sentence when a song started playing out of nowhere. "Sorry, that's my cell," he said, and swam over to the cliff.

I sighed, and started to swim over too. He climbed to the top, and I heard him answer his cell and start talking to whoever it was quietly while I climbed the rocks. Once I got to the top, he lifted me up and started to apologize. "I'm sorry, that was Greg. I have to go. Will you be okay by your self? I could ask him to send someone else. I'm sure Justin's done hunting by now, I'll just call him over and-"

"Brysdon, Brysdon, it's fine. I only have about ten minutes left of my shift anyway. You don't need to call Justin or anything," I assured him. "Go do whatever Greg needs you to do, it's okay."

"Are you sure?" He asked, starting to put his clothes back on. Once he was done, he looked up at me. He seemed unsure to leave me, but we both knew his duties to the prince were above his duties to hang out with some werewolf girl. That's probably all I am to him, just some girl. I all of a sudden got really depressed while I was dressing, and started to move slower.

"I'm positive," I said in a weaker voice.

"Alright, well...I'll see you later?" He asked me.

"Yea, I'll see you." He stayed there for a few seconds just looking at me, then turned quickly and raced into the forest. "Stupid cell phones," I muttered once he was out of earshot.

I turned into my wolf form and started sweeping the area, feeling bad that I hadn't done my job. I went through the whole area, trying to pick up irregular scents, before I finally decided ten minutes were up and started to head home.

Once I was at my house, I changed to my human form and went to my room, only to discover it was just six a.m. I was wide-awake, but I knew everyone else, except those who were unfortunate enough to have guard this morning like myself, were probably sleeping, so I changed into jeans and a t-shirt and went down stairs. I grabbed the keys to Sean's motorcycle, my wallet, and my cellular, and then left my house to go to the garage.

Only Sean had his motorcycle license, but I knew how to ride it, and it's not like I was going to get caught in this small little town. I put on my helmet that Sean had gotten for me when he first taught me how to ride, then hopped on and started it up. I drove down the driveway and turned onto the main street to speed. I was really hungry, so I took a left to go into town and kept going until I was on Roan Stallion Lane. I parked the motorcycle on the curb and walked into my all time favorite restaurant, Lester's diner.

Lester's had been around way before I was born, and was a family owned restaurant. Gerald Lester was the founder of the diner, and was the nicest sixty-year-old man I had ever meant. Plus, I had been friends with his daughter, Ryan, ever since I was a kid. I came there whenever I was hungry, or just need a nice piece of blue berry pie to make my day better.

I walked in and put my helmet on one of the hooks by the door, then sat down on one of the vintage stools at the counter.

"Well good morning there, Miss Fairday," Mr. Robinson, a daily customer of Lester's, told me as I settled down it my stool. He was sitting to my left, and Mrs. Potter, the middle-aged town gossiper, was sitting to my right.

"Good morning, Peter, good morning, Sarah! How has your week been going so far?" I asked politely. These people had known me ever since I was little, so I didn't even use their full names anymore.

"Just fine there Honey," Sarah Potter told me, "Your Uncle came in here the other day, told us you were getting some visitors. How are they?" Mrs. Potter is very nosey, but she was good at heart.

"Oh, leave the poor girl alone, Sarah," Peter said, "She probably just came in to get something to eat, and your already bombarding her with questions." I laughed and told her it was okay, then ordered some Belgium waffles when Ricky, the server, asked for my order.

"They're actually family friends, Sarah," I told her, not giving to much, "They're just staying for a few weeks." Ricky gave me my waffles a few minutes later and I took a bite. So good.

"So, Rose," Sarah started, "Any new boyfriends? You haven't had any in a while, I know, and a beautiful young girl like you should have one by now. I know you were interested in that Kellen boy a while ago. Or what about Kevin? Or what about-" she started again but I cut her off.

"No, no, Sarah. No one right now." All this talk about boy friends was making me a little uncomfortable, so I stuffed my face with a big piece of Belgium waffle. Very lady like, I know.

"Well what about Emily?" Sarah asked, trying to get some info out of me. "How has she been doing? She doesn't have a boyfriend does she? But she was in here with your brother and I thought-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, cutting her off once more, "First of all he's my cousin," I told her, knowing she was talking about Sean, who everyone in town thought was my big brother, "and what do you mean you saw them in here?"

"Two days ago," Peter told me, "Emily and Sean came in for lunch. I asked them if you were going to be joining them, but they said you were busy." Peter looked at me like I should know what he was talking about, so I just nodded my head and took some more waffle.

"Oh, yeah," I said, acting as if I knew about their little meeting, "I totally forgot." I took a sip of my orange juice and took out my wallet. "Well I'm going to head out, nice to see you guys again." I put the money on the counter and left a tip for Ricky. "Hope you guys have a good week."

"You too, Rose. And if you have any news for us..." Sarah inquired.

"Then I'll come right to you," I assured her.

"Tell Ace and the guys I said hi," Peter said.

"Sure thing, see ya, Ricky!" I called over my shoulder as I walked out of the diner.

Emily and Sean where in here together? That's odd. And I know I wasn't busy because they never invited me. Were they on a date? Couldn't be, Emily's my best friend, she would have told me. And Sean would have mentioned it too, I know he would have. It must just have been a casual thing, friends going out to lunch. Even though they aren't really the type of friends to go out to lunch, I didn't even think they were that close. I couldn't help but think that maybe something was going on ever since I saw them dancing last night.

_I should stop assuming,_ I thought to myself, _you know what they say when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me._ I took out my cell and looked at the time. Seven-thirty. Damien should be up by now, taking his morning run. I called his cell phone and sat down on a bench as I waited for him to pick up. He picked up on the last ring.

"Sup, Flowers?" Isn't he so funny, calling me 'flowers' cause my name is Rose. Ha ha ha. Not.

"Where are you?" I asked him, hoping we could hang.

"I'm in the bathroom on a date."

"What the hell? On a date at seven-thirty in the morning?"

"Well, I have shift during the afternoon today and later tonight we have training and then all kinds of Galient crap. I didn't have any time so I told him to meet me for breakfast, and he complied."

"Oh, my god," I said, "You are so weird. Now details."

"I'm at Victoria's Cafe with a guy named John. Kinda short, but hey, who am I to complain."

"Damien, everyone is short compared to you. Ugh, when will you be done? I have to talk to you." I complained.

"I don't know, I just got here. Go play with Emily. I got to go, I've been in the bathroom long enough. See you at training, Flowers," he said about to hang up.

"But wait! I just wanted to talk to you about-" I heard a click at the end of the line, and then the dial tone came on with this stupid lady telling me 'If you like to make a call...'. I looked at the clock on my cell again. Seven-thirty five. Great.

I put on my helmet and hopped on my bike, starting it up and then pulling onto the street. I started looking around town, looking for something to do. I spotted the bookstore and parked down the street. I went inside and started to browse around, looking for good books to read. About forty-five minutes after I walked in I heard someone behind me say, "Well if it isn't werewolf girl." I turned around to see Pete leaning against the bookshelf at the end of the row.

"You know," I said, "You really shouldn't say that so loud, you don't know whose listening."

"Why are you up so early this morning?" He said ignoring me.

"I had shift at four-thirty, and now I'm just bored out of my mind because no one can hang. What are you doing up?"

"I had to get a book for my mom, and I saw you in here. I actually have been meaning to talk to you," he said. I looked up from the book cover I was reading and looked at him.

"Oh, yea? Why's that?" I asked.

"Well, we all know how you're sixteen, and you'll be turning seventeen this summer, which makes you eligible for, you know, being sought out. For a mate, I mean."

"Yeaaaaa," I said, not seeing where this was going.

"And well, a lot of the guys were wondering if you wanted to be, uh, _courted_ this year." He looked a little uncomfortable, but he also looked like he wanted to know.

"I don't know,' I said, "I haven't really thought about it. Why? Does one of the guys want to, you know, be my _mate_?" Now _I_ was getting uncomfortable.

"Rose," he laughed, "I think it's more than just _one_ of the guys."

"What?" I said, surprised. "Okay, who put you up to this? Ace? Does he want to know if I'm interested in any one because he can go-"

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, putting his hands up in a surrendering motion, "No one put me up to this, Rose. I just wanted to know, and I knew some of the guys wanted to know also. Don't worry, I'm not going to court you."

"But you know who wants to?" I asked him, hoping he would tell me.

"Maybe, maybe not. You'll find out, Rose. I'll see you later." He turned around and walked quickly out of the bookstore. Okay, that was weird.

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**Read and review pleassssseee. Shanks ya.**


	16. Bite me

**YAAAAAYYYY! We hit the 100 review mark!! I looovvee you guys! No really, i would marry you all if that wasn't totally illegal and im really not interested in marrying a girl (no affense ladies)! Thanks you so much! Now all I need is 48 more review and my friends Ryan bakes me a cake! And thanks for all the encouragment, especially those of you who threaten me, it really helps in a kinda creep way. Anywayss, hope you like the chapter! I had off school today so i think imm gonna go see Narnia with my friends. Love ya guys, Molly Rose, review!**

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"BBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!" What the hell? I thought to myself. I big truck just swerved trying to avoid hitting me. He stuck his fist out the window and gave me a not so nice hand jester.

"Yea, well, you too buddy," I muttered. I was riding home one the motorcycle after about another hour in the bookstore.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Pete had said to me. Someone wanted to court me? And not just one, more than one? I was trying to think of any of the guys that would, but I couldn't come up with a definite answer. I wasn't really sure what to think. One part of me was kinda flattered, but the other part of me was confused. Did I want to be courted? I was so young, and I wasn't in love. I didn't want to be bonded with anyone that I didn't love, not ever. I hoped no one would court me, I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, especially if I had to spend almost everyday of the summer with that some one.

I tried to concentrate on the road as I drove home, keeping my mind off our conversation. I wonder what Brysdon is doing? Uh, that's probably not good to think about either. How bout Emily? Once I got home I put the bike back in the garage and took out my cell phone from my jeans pocket. The clock read nine-thirty, which I figured everyone would be up by now. I called Emily as I walked into the house towards the kitchen.

"Sup, Forest?" She answered.

"Nothing much Bubba, just got back from town. Where are you?" I grabbed a vitamin water out of the fridge and opened it up.

"I'm in my room about to take a shower. The boys are down in the basement playing video games, and I'm about to go down there and make some money." The boys would bet on anything, including video games, and Emily and me were pretty good, if I do say so myself. "I don't know which ones are down there, but they sound like they're having fun. When are you coming?"

"I guess I'll take a shower too, and then I'll be over in about twenty minutes, kay?"

"Alrighty. Oh, and do you know where Damien is?" She asked before I hung up. I laughed and told her I would explain when I got there. I was really tempted to ask her about her and my cousin, but I figured it was best to do it in person, and probably not at the moment.

I went up to my room and grabbed a towel and clean clothes, then headed to my bathroom. I took a ten-minute shower, trying to wash away the smells of the motorcycle gasoline and Belgium waffles. I changed into my clothes and put my hair up in a messy bun, then headed downstairs.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Miss Motorcycle stealer," Sean said, coming down the stairs behind me.

"Well I was going to ask you but you were asleep," I explained with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sure," he laughed, "Are you going to Emily's now? I gotta head over there to meet Erik and Kevin, so I can give you a ride if you want."

"Yea! Thanks," I said, "Let me just grab my shoes." I ran over and slipped on my flip-flops, then walked out the front door with Sean closing the door behind us. We walked over to the garage and put on our helmets, then Sean hopped on and I got on in back of him, putting my arms around his waist to hold on.

We rode to Emily's and got there in about five minutes, then parked the bike in their drive way and hopped off. We walked to the door and knocked once, letting people know we were coming in. People were always coming in and out of Emily's house, no one really bothered to ring the doorbell anymore. The second we opened the door, a big waft of air came out full of the scent of chocolate chip cookies.

"Please tell me those are for us," Sean said to Emily's mom as we walked into the kitchen.

"Their almost done," she said, "I'm making three batches for all of you. The boys and Emily are down stairs."

We turned around and opened the basement door then continued to walk down the steps. I could here the yelling from the top of the stairs, no doubt some one had just lost big time.

"That's not fair!" I saw Ryan yelling at Frank, "You cheated!"

"Hey, Rose," Emily said sitting on the couch watching the argument. I went and sat down next to her as the rest of the guys greeted me.

"Alright, stop fighting," Kevin told them, "Just admit it Ryan, you lost. Who wants to play next?"

"I'll play," I told them.

"Alright, who wants to play Rose?" He asked.

"I'll play Rose!" Kellen volunteered.

"What are we playing?" I asked them.

"All Goes Down."

"What's that?" I asked, acting like I had never heard of it. All apart of the plan.

"It's a new game by the makers of Grand Theft Auto, it's totally awesome." Kevin explained to me.

"I've never heard of it," I told them, "It sounds fun." So Kellen and I sat down side by side on the big couch, each holding a controller. _Sucker_, I thought.

"You're going down," Kellen told me right before we started.

"You wish, Kellen, you wish." I said with a smile.

"All right, ten dollars on Kellen," Kevin automatically called out.

"Hey!" I complained.

"Sorry Rose, but I need some money," he said with a grin.

"Yea, I'm gonna go with Kellen on this one," Ryan agreed. Okay so there was twenty dollars against me already.

"I'll put money on you Rose," Emily said, being the best friend that she it. And the fact that she was the only one who knew I've beaten this game about 100 times, but still.

"Yea, I'll go with my sis," Sean said. Everyone just got use to the fact that he called me sis instead of cuz. So Kellen and I started the game, I acting all bad at first, and then turning around and kicking his ass. The first time I won he said it was beginners luck, and we should play two out of three, but then I ended up beating him all three times. Ryan, Kevin, and Kellen had to give Sean, Emily and I ten bucks, and they were not happy about it.

"You guys cheated!" Ryan called out for the second time that morning.

"It's not cheating, it's hustling," I said, which made Emily and Sean laugh.

"Cookies!" Elizabeth called, as she walked down the stairs with a big batch of chocolate chip cookies. We all took at least six and ate them so fast you never knew they were there. Then some of the guys started seeing how many they could stuff in their face without puking. Ah, good times.

At one point Jona came down and said they were going to have a meeting, and everyone was to report to Daniel's house in twenty minutes. So we finished our cookies and went upstairs to grab cars. I ended up going with Pete, Kellen, Erik, Kevin and Ryan in Kellen's SUV while Sean took his bike and Emily, Frank, Pete and Emily's parents went in Emily's car. We all arrived on time and piled out of the cars to meet other members of the pack arriving. Vampires were also getting there too, some on foot and some in cars. Everyone met up inside Daniel's house (which is huge, might I add), and took a seat in his living room.

I sat down next to Emily and Sean on the couch and Damien sat next to Emily when he arrived also.

Shannon and Janice had gotten there also with Ace. I looked around the room once more, spotting many vampires I hadn't seen yet, but also some familiar faces. I saw Greg standing behind his mother's chair, and Brysdon in the back of the room. The corner farthest away from me.

"Okay everyone, settle down," Daniel said, as he stood at the head of the room with Jona and Ace. "Some of you know why we are meeting, so let me explain to the rest who don't." He looked around seriously and started again. "A group of rouge vampires are coming from the south. We don't know how many there are, but they have already killed many humans, and created more of them. Our brother tribe in the North says they are powerful, and that they had already killed at least three werewolves." There was a silent tension in the room, and I could feel it increasing with each passing second. "We have a reason to believe they are headed our way, and we need to be ready. The King and his coven have graciously decided to help with what they can, help us if we fight. From now on I want at least three people at each on guard at each point, and start paying attention carefully."

"We know this must be hard for some of you, but trust us, it will be okay. We don't even know for sure if the coven is coming here," Jona reassured everyone. He always had this way to comfort anyone, even in the most strange and frightful situations. "Now, everyone resume what you were doing, and we'll see you at training." He had a that's-the-end-of-the-conversation note in his voice, so everyone started getting up and jostling around.

"This is horrible," Emily whispered, and Sean put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's not so bad," he told her, "We don't even know if they are coming towards us yet. Besides, we outnumber them. It will be cake." He looked up at me for reassurance.

"Yea, cake." I couldn't help but feel a little sick to my stomach. "I'm gonna go for a run," I told them, "I'll be back soon." Before anyone could protest, I stood up and walked out the back door. I started running even before I got to the woods and transformed mid stride. I didn't know how long I was running for, just that I was running far. I was probably already thirty or forty miles from the house before I started to slow down.

A coven? I hadn't heard of a large coven since the one that was visiting us now, and even they didn't kill to feed. And killing werewolves? That hasn't happened since... I wouldn't let myself think about that, not now. I hadn't realized I had slowed to a walk until I looked where I was. There were no distinctive traits about what part of the forest I was in, except for the extremely tall trees and multi colored leaves covering the ground everywhere. My wolf instincts were telling me I had gone east, and a good forty to fifty miles. I stopped walking and shifted into my human shape because my paws were hurting a little. I sat down on the ground and started rubbing my feet, until I heard a twig snap behind me.

_Trouble,_ my mind warned me, _get out of there now._ I wasn't one to go against my instincts, so I started to shift and run but something smashed into me and pierced me against a tree. I couldn't transform in the position I was in, but I couldn't really fight as a human.

"Well, well, well," a deep voice, thick of some sort of accent I didn't recognize, said in front of me, "Looks like we got a keeper, Sheldon." I took a minute to focus my eyes on who was in front of me and I suppressed a gasp. Two piercing, red eyes were staring at me, only a couple inches in front of my face. A beautiful pale, vampire stood in front of me, looking like he was in his early twenties. He had one hand around my throat and one around my waist, pinning me to the tree. "You're a cute one, aren't you there darling," he said.

"She's from the western pack," said the other vampire, Sheldon, who I couldn't see because he was to far off to my left.

"Who else would she belong to?" snapped the vampire holding me. "You know," he said, "You are awfully young to be going out into the woods by yourself, so far from home. These woods are dangerous." He was only an inch from my face now, and it made me sick to see him smiling in delight. "If you weren't a werewolf, I could definitely make use of you."

And guess what I did? The stupidest thing you could have said in that certain situation, but I wasn't really thinking at the time, just angry and scared. So I said, "Bite me."

He laughed a deep rumble in his throat. "Well, if you insist." Then he leaned down and pierced his fangs into my neck.

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**Ahahaah, my first cliff hanger! Hope you guys like it. Read and review! shanks ya!**


	17. Logan

**Okay, I just edited it cause someone pointed a mistake out (thank you!) and i fixed it, so sorry if u think im updating again to all of you that have already read this chapter, sorry!**

**Woah! Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and alerts guyss! And yes, the threatening did help. I know im evil for leaving you off with a cliffie, but come on! That was good! And I know this ones kinda short but you can't balme me cause I updated two in two days! I'll even start the next one when I get home from my soccer game. Thanks again guys!**

At first I was paralyzed. I didn't know what to do, or how to feel. And then the shock of his bite wore off and I jerked forward with pain, but his strong hands held me against the tree.

_Oh, my gosh,_ I thought to myself, _I'm going to die, I know it. Can I die? What does a vampire bite do to werewolves?_ Fear struck through me, but I knew it was no help. In human form, I couldn't do a lot. And even if I did manage to throw him off, there was still another vampire I had to get through. Trying to shift now could be deadly, but what do I do?

All of a sudden the pain started to wear off, and I felt relaxed. My muscles were easing from their tense position, and his tongue slid across my neck, gulping down my pounding blood. This must be what happens when they say you feel pleasure from the bite. I exhaled once more, but then his mouth was ripped away from me.

My body flew forward from the impact, and I landed on the ground. I could feel my neck still bleeding, but I looked up to find out what happened. The vampire who was drinking from me was crouching behind a tree, and Brysdon was crouching in a defensive position in front of me.

"Do. Not. Touch. Her." He let out a possessive growl that made a shiver go down my back.

"Well, well, well," the vampire said to Brysdon, wiping the blood off his mouth, "Look what we have here. I didn't think I'd ever see you defending a werewolf, Brysdon." The vampire laughed sadistically, and started to move toward his left, and Brysdon followed his every move.

"Why don't you just leave now, Logan," Brysdon warned him. His voice was so deep and dangerous, I was so glad he was protecting me instead of fighting me. And how did Brysdon know this Logan guy?

"I would, you know," Logan said sarcastically, "But I've already tasted her, and well, she's to good to give up. Plus, look at her. I could have some real fun with this one," he moved his head a little to the side so he could see me, then winked at me with a smile. This apparently made Brysdon very mad, because he launched himself at Logan and they slammed into each other, creating a huge booming sound throughout the forest.

I felt so helpless, so I stood up and tried to shift so I could help, but a searing pain shot through me. I put a hand to my neck and felt blood soaking my shirt and hair. Something flew through the forest, crashing through a tree and landing on the ground. Logan looked up from the forest floor, and started to move toward me, but I caught him off guard and gave him an awesome right hook, if I do say so myself. It felt like I broke all the bones in my hand, but I didn't let it get to me just yet. He was distracted for a few seconds, but that gave Brysdon enough time to throw him against another tree.

Brysdon came to stand between Logan and I again, but it looked like Logan was down for the count.

"You'll pay for this," Logan said, almost doubling over in pain, "I'll get you, girl, I'll finish you no matter what it takes. We're coming for you." Brysdon let out another dangerous growl, and Logan sprinted off into the forest. I looked around to see Sheldon lying on the ground, his chest ripped apart. I realized Brysdon must have taken him out silently while Logan had me against the tree. Brysdon turned around to look at me, and we just stood there for a few seconds staring at each other. Then I rushed forward and threw my arms around him, so grateful that he was there.

"Thank you," I whispered. At first he was shocked I was even touching him, but then he slid his arms around my back a pulled me closer. "If you hadn't come..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

"It's okay," he whispered, "We're fine now." He pulled back and looked at me, "Are you okay? Let me see your neck." I pulled my hair back from my neck, and he put one hand on my shoulder, and the other on the side of my neck. "We need to wash this off, now. He didn't get his venom too far into you, but your werewolf jeans won't heal this easily. Don't shift, it will only make it worse." He put his arm behind my knees and picked me up bridal style. It felt good to be in his arms, and I let it distract me from the pain while he was running to my little spot near the pond.

He set me down by the bank and took off his shirt, tearing off a piece at the end and wetting it in the water. He crouched down next to me and I pulled my hair off my neck while he started to clean the wound. For a while it was silent, just the sound of him cleaning my wound and the rushing waterfall.

"How did you know where I was?" I asked him after I couldn't handle the silence any longer.

"I saw you leave after the meeting, and you looked pretty upset. I followed you out there, and then I picked up Logan and Sheldon's scents."

"You were following me?" I asked with a smile, but he didn't answer. "I can't believe I didn't smell them. I guess I was just too busy thinking," I said, feeling kind of ashamed.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked me, but then he pressed a little too hard on the bite and I yelped. My hands flew up to his and pulled them away.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. He looked down at my hands gripping his, and I let go quickly. He resumed cleaning my wounds with the cloth as I tried to think of an answer to his question.

"Just about the vampire coven," I mumbled, which got me thinking. "Brysdon?"

"Yes," he said. I turned my head to look at him and he stopped cleaning the bite. His dark green eyes were staring wearily at me, and I tried to ask the question the best way I could.

"You...you knew them. Didn't you?"

"Yes," he said again. I gulped and waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything.

"How did you know them, Brysdon?"

Revieeeew!

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	18. Stop interupting

**Oh my god, it's a miracle! I have updated three days in a row! It's mostly because I'm procrastinating about studing for my Algerbar II test I have tomorrow but what the hey. I'm totally getting siked about this story, and thanks for all of you that reviewed! I'll try to update soon, but please don't chop off my fingers if it's not soon enough, becuase three day weekends don't come along to often, even though next weeks memorial day weekend...ANYWAY! Please read and review, thanks! -Molly Rose**

"It's a long story," he said and looked away from my face, "We have to get back and tell the others about-"

"Brysdon." He looked back up at me, "Please tell me," I pleaded. He gave a deep sigh and put a hand through his pitch-black hair.

"Logan and Sheldon...use to be in our coven. They were my brother's friends."

"Your brother?" I had met Brysdon's sister Amanda, but they had never mentioned his brother before.

"My parents had three kids, my brother, Devin, then me and then my sister Amanda. Devin and I never got along when we were younger, and he always hung out with his friend, Logan, and Tyson, the rightful heir to the-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a sec," I interrupted him, "The rightful heir? As in the vampire family? As in-"

"Yes," he interrupted me, "As in Hannah and James' first son, and Gregory's older brother. Now stop interrupting," he told me.

"Sorry," I muttered, then let him continue.

"When Tyson turned fourteen, he was supposed to have a ceremony to represent becoming a real male, a vampire male that is. But the day before his ceremony, Tyson introduced the idea of a different life style to his father. A life of power and killing humans. The king forgave him at first, but Tyson kept insisting, and went so far as to kill a human to demonstrate his point. He even got so mad that he couldn't have his way, he, Logan and my brother left the coven. Now I know where they are." He looked so sad and disappointed, I put my arms around him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry," I told him, "This must be hard for you."

"This was his choice," he said, "He will have to pay for his own consequences."

"This must be hard for your father," I said in a sympathetic voice.

He snorted and said, "My father blames me for Devin leaving more then he does Devin."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, Devin and I never got along, but Devin was like the miracle son to my father. He thinks I drove Devin away," Brysdon was looking at him hands, but he looked up when he said the next part, "But I didn't, and now Devin's obviously found a coven of his own." A few minutes passed and he brushed the hair back from my neck and looked at it again. He gave me the wet cloth and told me to hold it there while he carried me back, seeing as it was still dangerous to shift. I was so glad he was there, other wise I probably would have done something stupid by now and killed myself.

We ran back to Daniel's house, me in his arms, and walked through his back door. Elizabeth and the queen were still in the living room, and they gasped when they saw Brysdon carrying me. The fact that our shirts were blood soaked, my blood had gotten on his from carrying me, and that his shirt was ripped probably didn't look too pretty either. Brysdon set my down on the couch while Liz nailed him for information.

"What happened? Who did this? Rose, are you okay?" She was hysterical by now and I kept trying to calm her down. Brysdon asked the queen to go get James, Daniel and the other leaders while he got me a new cloth from the kitchen.

"Really, I'm fine you guys," I reassured them. I wasn't use to people hovering over me like this, it made me uncomfortable. Brysdon came into the room with a new, wet cloth from the kitchen and sat down beside me while he pressed it against my neck. He told me to hold it there until the wound felt numb, and then gave up his seat for Liz. _What a gentlemen_, I thought to myself. I couldn't help it that I liked him so much. Jona, James, Daniel, Ace and two other vampire men rushed into the room.

"What happened?" Daniel demanded as he came over and looked at my neck.

"She was attacked by two male vampires in the woods, about forty-seven miles from here," Brysdon told them in a professional tone. He could sound so grown up when he was serious; he sometimes made me feel like a child. "I got there in time before her attacker got his venom into her system, and we cleaned out her wound." Daniel continued to examine the bite, and just told me to lay off the shifting for a couple of hours and to rest.

"You think they were from the coven?" Jona asked no one in particular.

"I know they were," Brysdon answered him.

"And how would you know that?" Jona asked a little annoyed. Brysdon turned to James and answered him.

"Because Logan was the one who bit her." Everyone in the room was silent while James' face took on a knowing expression, and everyone waited for an explanation.

"Who is Logan?" Ace spoke for the first time.

"We need to talk," James told them, "Elizabeth, can you please take my wife and Rose back to your house to rest up until we're done?"

"Sure," Liz said taking my hand and helping me up, even though I didn't really need it. I wanted to shift so bad because I knew it would heal my hand, which hurt like a mother from punching Logan, but I knew I couldn't because of the bite. We all piled into Liz's car and drove to her house, no one talking during the ride. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't feel like talking to either of them.

We arrived at the house and got out of the car and walked in. Liz and Hannah went into the kitchen, and I just went upstairs to see if Emily was there. I went straight down the hall and to her bedroom door, which was closed. I knocked three times, and waited for her response.

"Come in," she called and I opened the door and walked in.

"Hey girl!" She said happily. "The funniest thing happened this morning while you were gone! Kevin and Erik had this..." she trailed off once she saw my dejected face. "What's wrong, Rose?" She grabbed my hand and we sat down on her bed. And you know what I did? I told her everything. I told her about this morning with Brysdon and I, then I told her about Pete talking to me at the bookstore and thinking about being courted, and I told her about Logan and Sheldon, and about the conversation Brysdon and I had about Devin. It felt so good to just vent to my best friend, and she nodded sympathetically throughout my talking and waited for me to finish. When I was done, I waited for her response to my blabbing.

"Wow," she said.

"Yea." After my whole story, I was expecting her to ask any other question then the one she asked next.

"Do you like him?" she asked me.

"What?" I said surprised, sitting up from my position on my elbows.

"Brysdon. Do you like him?"

"Well, yea, I guess so."

"That's not what I meant," she said, shaking her head, "I mean do you _like _him?"

I thought about her question for a little, but couldn't come up with a solid answer. "No. Maybe." She gave me a pointed look. "Yes," I admitted, "Yes, I do like him." I put my head in my hands, too ashamed to look up.

"That's not good, Rose."

"I know," I mumbled into my palms.

"You can't be with him," she insisted.

"I know that!" I exploded. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I've already figured that out by now?" I had yelled it, and I immediately felt bad afterward, seeing Emily's shocked face.

"I'm sorry," I told her, "I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," she said, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Let's talk about something else," she told me. It seemed like the perfect time to bring up her and Sean.

"Are _you_ interested in anyone?" I asked her.

"Uh, we don't have to talk about that, you know, if you don't want to." She was trying to get out of the subject, which made me even more curious than before because we always talked about boys together.

"No, it's okay. So, you interested in anyone?" I asked her again.

"No _really,_" she said, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Really?" I inquired.

"Yeah, well-" I never found out what she was going to say because her cell phone started ringing.

Besides the fact that this was the second time a cell had interrupted one of my conversations today, the cell phone got my attention. Because it wasn't her usual ring tone of 'Check Yes Juliet' that plays when ever anyone calls, except for me. When I call her, the song 'Circle Circle Dot Dot' plays (our little inside joke). We both agreed that we would never have a different ring for anyone else in our phone except for each other, and for when Shannon calls my phone because we couldn't resist having the 'Jaws' theme song play whenever she called. So her phone playing some weird rock song I had never heard of got my attention.

She didn't reach over to look at the contact, knowing who it already was from the ring tone.

"Who's that?" I asked curiously.

"No one," she mumbled, "So about this morning-"

"Why does your phone have that ring tone?" I was not going to let this go. Her phone stopped ringing, and about ten seconds later it started up again because the person was calling. Again.

"Maybe you should pick up," I told her. She picked up her phone and rejected the call.

"Who was it, Emily?" I asked her again.

"It was...uh," she looked down again, "Your cousin."

"Janice? I didn't think Janice was the one to talk on the phone that much." I told her, and I knew it wasn't Shannon.

"It was Sean," she blurted out, "Sean called me." I knew I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, cause in a way I knew it was coming, but the shock still ripped through me,

"Sean?" I asked. "Why was Sean calling _you_?"

"Oh, I didn't know it was so _weird_ that a boy was calling me!" She was angry now, and we both stood up from her bed.

"I'm sorry," I told her, knowing how mean I had sounded, "I didn't mean it like that. But _Sean?_ Come on-"

"You know Rose, you're not the only one boys like!" She was angry now and her hands were curled up in fists.

"I didn't say that!" I cried. "I didn't even know that you and Sean were talking. Why didn't you tell me? You guys aren't, you know, _together_ or anything, are you?"

"I didn't tell you," she said, "Cause I knew you would react like this."

"What do you mean like _this_? You're the one who's over reacting!" She was making _me_ angry now. "Why didn't you tell me you like Sean? How long have you liked him?"

"It's none of your business," she said angrily.

"Emily! What is wrong with you? We always tell each other-"

"Well I don't feel like talking, okay? Just because _your_ relationships never work out, doesn't mean you have to ruin mine too." And just like that, she knocked all the breath from my lungs. Emily knew how sensitive I was to my relationship problems, how I could always reel a boy in, but never make it last. Before I could say anything I would regret, and I turned around and stomped out of her room, slamming the door behind me.

I raced out of the house and down the porch stairs, waiting until I was down her driveway until I started to cry.

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**Mwahhahahah! Review!**

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	19. Best Friend

**Hey everyone! So my friend Steph sob told me sob that my story sob sob sob isn't that good. Just kidding, she didn't really say that hahaha, but she did tell me that I repeat things a lot in the story. So I'm sorry to all of you that agree, and I'll try to stop doing that from now on. I keep forgetting that some of you read my story all in one day, and I'm writing my story over time, so I try to not lose track of my thoughts and end up repeating myself. So sorry to all of you that get annoyed, I'll stop doing that! And 6 more reviews and my friend bakes me a cake! So thanks a lot Steph. Love you too. – Molly Rose**

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Once I hit the street at the end of their driveway, I ran all the way back to my house. I knew I was being a coward, but I kept going anyway. Emily and I rarely ever fought, and even when we did it wasn't that serious. Our conversation just got very bad, very fast. I knew she wasn't to blame, I did over react, and I knew it was coming. It just surprised me is all; I didn't really believe they were going out until she told me. And it didn't bother me so much that they were going out...just that they were going out without telling me.

I mean Emily is my best, best friend. And Sean was my best friend _and_ my brother (not really, but you know what I mean). Shouldn't they have told me? Or maybe I'm just over reacting. So much was going on at one time, I just got over whelmed. I'd apologize to her after I cooled off, and everything would be better. And then I would talk to Sean, too.

I had stopped crying halfway there, and when I got to my house I stopped in the driveway and looked in the car mirror. I was a mess. My hair was messy and clotted from the blood on my neck, and my shirt was ripped and blood soaked. My eyes were puffy and red from crying and my long eyelashes were wet and stuck together. _Perfect,_ I thought with a groan. I did a quick prayer that no one was inside to see me, and went over to open the door.

I walked inside and did a quick glance around, seeing no one. I let out a relieved breath and tip toed to the stairs. I had barely put my foot on the first step when I heard the floor creek from behind me.

"I talked to Emily," Sean said to me. I couldn't tell if he was sad or angry from his voice, and I couldn't read his expression because I still hadn't turned around.

"Really?" I asked.

"She's really upset," he said.

"Really?" I repeated. I turned around to look at him, and he looked so distraught.

"Rose, I..." he started, but I held up my hand.

"All I want to do is go upstairs and take and long, hot shower," I told him. "Then, I will talk to you."

"Promise?" He asked me. I gave him a smile to tell him I wasn't mad and said I promised.

I finished climbing the stairs and went to my room then grabbed some clean clothes and went to my bathroom. I locked the door behind me and put my things on the counter, then turned on the water as hot as it could go. Now let me tell you something, who ever said taking a steaming hot, forty-five minute shower wasn't relaxing, is totally wrong.

I stepped out of the shower, slipped the towel around me and looked in the mirror. I examined my body, looking for bruises and cuts in places I missed. The bite on my neck had healed a lot, and now it was just a big puffy red mark on the side of my neck. Like a giant hicky. Great.

Once I was dressed and ready, I walked across the hall and knocked on Sean's door. There was a giant hole on the bottom from the time when Sean broke one of Shannon's dolls when we were little and then ran into his room and closed the door. Shannon was so angry she started hitting and screaming, and finally kicked the door so a giant hole was formed at the bottom.

"Come in," Sean said. The inside of Sean's room had black and blue walls, with posters of bands and NFL players on the walls, just like any normal 19-year-old guy. Except for the werewolf gene, that is. "Hey." He was sitting on his bed and patted the space next to him. There was a long pause before we said anything, and it was getting more and more awkward by the second.

"I'm sorry," we both blurted at the same time, then we both gave out an awkward laugh.

"Let me go first," he told me, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rose. I know we should have told you, and we were going to when we got serious. I didn't know..." he shook his head as if to clear it, "I didn't know we would be going this fast. I know you're mad Rose, but-" I cut him off before he could say anything else.

"But I'm not mad, Sean. Not anymore. I really over reacted, I guess, I just... I don't know. I freaked a little." I meant everything I said but he still looked a little weary.

"If you want me and Emily to, you know, not see each other...it would be okay. Emily doesn't want to ruin your relationship over me. And I don't want us not to be friends, Rose. You're my best friend." He put on arm around my shoulder and hugged me.

"I don't want to ruin our relationship either. But what if one of you gets hurt? What if we all can't hang out anymore?" I hadn't thought of it before, but the idea popped into my head and seemed like a good question.

"Let Emily and I worry about that, alright?" He smiled and hugged me again. I hugged him back and he sighed. "She was really upset you know, almost crying when she called me."

"I'll talk to her, I just needed to cool down first. So... how long have you known?" I raised my eyebrows up and down.

He laughed. "Have I known what?"

"You know...liked her?" Curiosity killed the cat. Good thing I'm a dog.

He laughed again and shrugged. "I don't know. I remember when I use to think you and Emily and Frankie were all so much younger than us. But you really are only three years younger, and I just started looking at all of you differently. And I guess... I don't know, Emily's..." he was so cute trying to figure out what to say that I laughed.

"It's okay," I patted him on the back, "I get it." I started to get up to leave but he pulled me back down.

"Now tell me who the hell hurt my little sister," he said, looking at my neck. I told him what happened in the woods, but not as much detail of the whole Brysdon thing as I did Emily. I didn't want to talk about him right now, especially with Sean. When I told him about the vampires, he looked so angry he could burst. I knew because whenever he got mad there was a little vain in his forehead that popped and his face got all red. At the end of my story, he pulled me into a big hug and told me to never go into the woods again by myself. I told him I wouldn't, but I knew I would. The woods were where I could go to be alone and think, and with all that was going on, I couldn't give up that.

I left his room and went down stairs to the kitchen to get something to eat. I grabbed a bag of pop tarts and sat down at the kitchen table eating while I took out my cell phone and called Emily, but no one picked up. If she wanted to talk to me so badly, then why didn't she pick up her phone?

"Sean!" I yelled up the stairs.

"Yea?" he called down.

"Where's your girlfriend?" I tried to be lighthearted about it, to show him I was cool with it. To tell you the truth, it was still really, really weird.

"She's not my girlfriend! And she had to go somewhere with her mom, she'll be back later tonight!" I went to the living room and laid on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. The clock on the DVD player read two o'clock. Two o'clock already? The day was flying by. I watched reruns of LOST, my guilty pleasure, and slowly fell asleep.

_RRRRRoooosssseeeee..._I was having such a nice dream. I was on the beach lying in the hot sand with my soccer ball by my feet.

_RRRRooossseeeeeee..._Some one was calling my name in the distance, but I was to busy watching the sunset. No school, no chores, no responsibility, no-

"Rose, wake up!" Shannon's shrill voice woke me from my dream right as she smacked a giant pillow on my face.

"Ouch!" I yelled grabbing my nose. It felt like she had smashed my nose right into my face. "What was that for?" I asked angrily.

"I've only been calling you forever! Get the hell up, the phones for you." She pushed the portable phone in my face and stopped away angrily. Bitch. I looked at the clock and saw in red 5:23 p.m. Jeez, I've been asleep for hours. I looked down at the phone, not knowing who it could be. My friends would have called my cell phone, but I guess I slept right through it.

"Hello?" I answered sleepily, expecting Emily to be on the other line calling me back.

"Hello, is this Rose?" An unfamiliar voice asked me. It was a males voice, and I sat up straighter on the couch, more alert.

"Yes, this is Rose. May I ask who's calling?" Best to stay polite until I know whom it is.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I'm Henry Chapling, here with the king and queen. I'm a vampire doctor, I guess you could say, and I heard you were bitten. May I come take a look, if that's alright with you?" he sounded nice enough to me.

"Sure, sure. How bout I come to you?" I needed to get out of the house and wake up a little.

"Great! That would be even better. I'm staying in one of Daniel's guest houses, but I'll meet you in his kitchen if that's okay?"

"Yea, I'll be there in twenty minutes." We both said goodbye and then hung up the phone. I went and told Sean where I'd be, and then asked him if I could take his motorcycle there. Once I was outside, I grabbed the helmet and the bike from the garage, hopped on and started it up. I rode all the way the Daniel's house, and got there in only fifteen minutes. _What is this guy gonna do? _I thought to myself as I parked the motorcycle and took off my helmet. I walked into Daniel's house and said hi to the werewolves I knew in one of the rooms you first walk into. I continued on to the kitchen, looking out for anybody who could be the doctor.

"Miss Fairday?" I heard a voice behind me say. I turned around and saw the smallest vampires I had ever seen. He was a man who stood about 4'11 and had curly red hair. His glasses were perched on his nose, and he held out his hand for me to shake. He was charming, all vampires were, but he was very different. I liked him immediately. "Hello, I'm Doctor Henry Chapling, but most people just call me Doc. I've heard a lot about you Miss Fareday."

"Hi, and you can just call me Rose," I said with a smile. He smiled back at me and motioned for me to sit down at the kitchen table.

"If you don't mind, I would just like to look at the bite." I turned my head to the side so he could get a better angle of the wound, and then he started poking and prodding. He made a lot of 'ohs' and 'ahs' and 'yes' sounds, so I just sat there silently and waited. "Your body's healing just fine. I'll give you another day to rest up, and tomorrow you'll be able to shift again." I let out a relied breath and climbed out of the chair. "It seems like Sunny did a good job of cleaning this wound out."

"Sunny?" I asked with a laugh.

"Oh, yes," he smiled, "My little nickname for Brysdon." He laughed at a certain memory from the past, "When Brysdon was little-"

"Doctor," a man said from the doorway, interrupting Doc, "I would like to speak to Miss Fairday alone please." The man was very tall and very dark. And also very handsome. He looked about in his late twenties, like most adult vampires did, and had midnight black hair with brown eyes.

"Very well," Doc mumbled, "I'll check in on you tomorrow." He patted my back and left the room with his head down. I turned my eyes to the man in the doorway, trying not to be intimidated.

"Hello, Mrs. Fairday," the man said, "I'm Abraham Hollows. Brysdon's father."

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Hehehehehe. Review!


	20. Now, I feel better

**Okay, I know I haven't updated in forever...but Ryan baked me a cake! It was sooo good and she brought it to shcool and we had it for lunch! Anyways, thanks for all the reviews! Tomorrow I am totally going to Borders and getting the new Eclipse to read the first chapter of Breaking Dawn! Yaaayyy! Anyways, hope you like it, this chapter was really fun to write wink wink!!**

Brysdon's father. Huh. Not exactly the first person I wanted to talk to at the moment. I reached out and shook his hand, and couldn't help but jump a little. His hands were so cold, much colder than his son's. His son. This was Brysdon's _father_. The man that blamed Brysdon for Devin's disappearance.

What should I say? Nice to meet you?

"Um...Hi. I'm, uh, Rose," _Duh, stupid, he already knows that_, "Obviously." I added at then end. I always thought Brysdon was intimidating, and when I first met him he looked dangerous even. I now saw where he got it.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He gestured to Daniel's kitchen table and we sat down.

"Sure," I told him, "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing really," he smile, "I just wanted to meet the famous Rose Fairday. I knew your parents, you know." _Who didn't?_ I wanted to add but kept my mouth shut. "They talked a lot about you last time I saw them at the Gallient."

"Uh, they never really mentioned you." I know, I'm sooo polite.

"Yes, well, I don't think they liked me all that much." He laughed a little, but there was no humor in it. I was starting to get an icky feeling from this guy, so I inconspicuously leaned as far back in my chair as I could go.

"And why was that?" I asked warily.

"Oh, well," he seemed to ignore me, "What's done is done. Someone told me you became acquainted with my son these past couple of days." _Oh no_, my heart raced. What would he think of Brysdon and me? Not that there was a Brysdon and me, but... "I heard he saved you from the vampires in the woods," he made three disapproving ticking noises with his tongue, "Silly boys." Silly boys? More like nasty, bloodsucking parasites.

"Yes," I answered, "He did save me, and I was very grateful."

"Did he tell you about his past, Miss Fairday?" He inquired, now seeming more interested. Well he sure cuts to the point.

"He told me a little." I didn't want to give too much away, especially if Brysdon wasn't suppose to tell me anything.

"So I'm guessing he told you of my other son, Devin?" His eyes seemed to darken a little, and I got that funny feeling in my stomach again.

"Yes," I gulped. "Yes, he did."

"Did Brysdon tell you what he did? Did he tell you how Brysdon drove away my son with the other vampires?" He seemed to be getting angrier with each passing second, but I didn't want to get up yet.

"No, he didn't."

"I should have figured," he seemed to be looking far away, but he snapped his attention back to me, "My son is a horrible person Miss Fairday. You don't think your parents would want you with a horrible person, would they?"

"You don't know anything about me, or my parents." I snapped at him. How dare he bring up my parents? "And maybe I haven't known Brysdon that long, but he is not a horrible person. How can you blame him for your son leaving like that?"

"Devin was a miracle child! Brysdon was jealous!" He shot up out of his chair and I stood with him. He grabbed my upper arms and squeezed them until it hurt, and I almost yelped. "Stay away from my son!"

I was so angry, I ripped out of his grasp, which hurt a lot thank you very much, and shoved him against the chest. Being a full-grown vampire, he didn't move very much, but it got his attention. "Don't. Tell. Me. What. To. Do." I turned around and stomped out of the kitchen before he could say anything.

That man didn't make any sense! If he resented his son so much, why wouldn't he want me hanging around him? Shouldn't he not even care what happens? It didn't make any sense to me. While I stomped out of the kitchen and through the dinning room doors, something dropped to the ground in front of me. I lost my balance and tripped over the object, getting all tangled up.

"Oops!" Doc said, untangling our limbs, "I'm so, so sorry, dear. Oh, goodness," he was blushing furiously and I knew he was embarrassed.

"Eaves dropping?" I laughed. He had on an I-just-got-caught-with-my-hand-in-the-cookie-jar look. That made him apologize all over again until I got him to calm down and stand up. "Doc, it's okay, really. I don't mind," I smiled again to let him know I was kidding.

"I was just waiting for you so I could give you my number. So, you know, you can call me tomorrow and I can check on your bite." His red hair was everywhere, and he was so short I had to turn my head down to look at him.

"Sure thing, Doc," I started heading off down the hallway to the door, but he stopped me again.

"Uh, Rose," he said, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know Mr. Hollows can be a little, scary, sometimes." I smiled at his generosity and told him I was fine, then headed out the door.

On my way home on the bike, I thought about what had happened. I felt so bad for Brysdon. First his mother dies, and then his father thinks he's a "horrible person". I knew I had only known Brysdon for a little while, but I couldn't help but think nicely of him. He couldn't be bad, that was just Brysdon's dad talking. I knew it.

I got back to my house and put the bike in the garage, then went inside. I walked to the kitchen and saw the clock said 6:15 p.m. I had taken a long nap before, so I wasn't that tired. There was a note on the counter, so I picked it up and read what it said. It was a note from my uncle saying that he took out his kids for dinner and they would be back around nine. Jeez, thanks for waiting for me guys. I took out my cell phone and checked my texts. About 8 of them were from Emily, telling me how sorry she was and she needed to talk. One was from Damien asking if I was okay, he had obviously heard about the attack. No doubt everyone had heard by now. I texted Emily back, telling her that it was okay and I could meet her to talk whenever.

I was in the middle of my text when the floorboard creaked from the hallway. I whirled around and went into a defensive crouch, ready to shift if I needed to. I wasn't going to be stuck in my human from again. I felt like one of those stupid girls in the scary movies you always yell at, you know, the ones who see or hear something creepy, and then go after it when you know they're just gonna get killed? But my curiosity got me again, so I tip toed my way over to the kitchen door, and then swung it open.

Brysdon was there, leaning against the wall with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"Jesus Christ, Brys, you scared the shi-" I started to tell him, but he looked up at me before I could finish. He was so deathly pale, and he had huge purple circles under his eyes, like he had been punched. His eyes weren't their normal dark green, but a pitch black that matched his dark hair. "What the..." I ran over to him and started to help him sit up, but he shoved me away.

"Don't touch me." He snarled. I stood there for a minute, having a hard time not to break down and cry. He had spoken with such intensity, that I was almost afraid of him. Almost.

"What's wrong Brysdon?" I moved toward him again, but this time when he snarled I didn't back away. "Tell me what's wrong, let me help you." He took a deep breath, and straightened up against the wall. He was so tall; he almost towered over me in the small hallway.

"I'm sorry," he said, with his eyes squeezed shut, "I just, haven't hunted in a while. And you, well...you smell good."

"Oh," I said in surprise, not really expecting that, even though I should have. "Should I leave?" I started to take a step away, but he answered me before I went any farther.

"It's okay," he told me, "I just need to hunt, that's all." He looked so weak at the moment; I had a hard time imagining how he was going to go hunt out in the woods.

"Brysdon, you can't go out like his. You can barely walk let a lone go running through the forest."

"I'm fine, really," He looked at my eyes and said it with a smile. I sighed.

"You know when people lie, and they can't look at you in the eyes?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered, looking at me straight on.

I leaned in a little closer. "You do the exact opposite." He laughed a little and looked at the floor. The moment seemed to take a serious note, so I just said what was on my mind.

"Drink from me," I blurted.

"No." He answered immediately, knowing what I was going to say.

"Brysdon, look at you. No one else is home, and I know it doesn't hurt if you do it lightly. You need it." I took a step closer to him and he leaned back. He looked so weak, I wanted to help him anyway I could.

"Absolutely not. You've already lost too much blood today. I don't need it that bad." He pushed off the wall and started to walk down the hallway, but he stopped half way there and leaned on the wall again. He started panting, and I quickly walked over and put my hand on his. He sat up against the wall again, and I leaned in against him and turned my neck up. I didn't exactly want two vampire bites in one day, but he looked so horrible, he couldn't even make it down the hall. He helped me today, and I wanted to help him.

He seemed to be deciding for a few seconds, then he leaned down and brushed his lips against my neck. I shivered, half because he was so cold, and half because it felt so good. He kissed my neck again, probably to comfort me. I squeezed my eyes tight and put my hands on his shoulders, bracing myself for the bite. His big arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to his body, and I shivered again. His head came down once more...but he kissed me again. He started trailing butterfly kisses up my neck and around my jaw. He kissed the nape of my neck, and then my chin. I sighed, not on purpose, and then he moved to my lips.

He pressed his against mine, and a firework went off in my stomach. It felt so good; I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I guess he took this as an indication I didn't mind him kissing me, because he started to kiss more demandingly, more possessively. I opened my mouth to give his tongue an entrance, and his slipped inside mine and explored. We kissed, and kissed, and his hands slipped underneath my shirt and rested on my lower back. My fingers were wrapped around the midnight hair and his neck, and I moved his head for better access.

_Man, he's a good kisser_, I thought to myself. I won't deny it, I had thought about kissing him, but I hadn't thought we would actually do it. He licked my bottom lick and we both pulled back for air, gasping from lack of breath. We both seemed to be in shock, because we just stood there for a couple minutes staring and holding each other. He leaned in again, and this time gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Now," he whispered against my lips, "I feel better." He pushed off the wall and I stepped away, then he staggered down the hallway.

"Wait, Brysdon!" I called, but he was already through the kitchen and out the back door.

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**Woah Baby! Reveiw!**

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	21. AN! update

**Hey guys! I just wanted to do a quick update on my story. I had some people ask if I was quitting, and let me tell you…I AM NOT STOPPING! I just had a lot of homework and finals and stuff, but tomorrow is my last day of finals and then I'm free for the summer. That means more updates regularly, I promise! New update by next week, maybe even this weekend. Sorry to all of you who thought this was an update. Thanks! –Molly Rose**


	22. Good Kisser?

**Okay, the answer is yes, I am aware of how very mean I can be. Like I am being now. Since I promised that I would update this week, I did, because I never break a promise. The being mean part is that it is very short and more of a filler. I'm so sorry! I just didn't have time! I'll be in NYC for the next four days with my friends, so I won't be able to update, but when I come back I PROMISE to update a nice looonnnggg chapter. Thanks for all the reviews people, love you! -Molly Rose**

"No way!" Emily screeched, "No way, no way, no way!" I had just told her about the kiss, and she was flipping out. Like normal, we had made up right away, her apologizing and me forgiving, then I apologizing and her forgiving. We hadn't said anything else on the matter, and I was eager to change the subject right away. Luckily, it was easy enough to do when I had told her we kissed.

"What was I like?" she crooned, "Was it a peck, or lips, or tongue, or-"

"Will you calm down?" I whispered furiously, "You'll wake the whole freaking house up!" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. We were out by her pool, lying down in the lounge chairs. Sunset had passed long ago, and the only way I could see her face in the dark was from the light of the full moon. "It was...a kiss. A good kiss. A _really_ good kiss. I don't know Em, it was...different. It was different from kissing Kellen or Kevin or any of the other guys I've hooked up with. It was just different. I didn't know how to explain it." I didn't know how to explain the fire that exploded in me when he touched me. I had gone straight to her house after I had recovered from the kiss and run out the back door to stop Brysdon, but he was already in the woods.

"I can't believe you offered your...blood." She said it with a shiver but she squealed in delight at the thought.

"He saved me today, I thought I could help him." I looked down at my hands in my lap. I had to admit to myself that at first I was embarrassed when he turned me down. I felt like I wasn't good enough, like he rejected my help. But then he kissed me and...God he's so confusing.

"Oh," she said, "He looks like he's a good kisser with those full lips of his, just like-" she came up short and looked at me.

"Just say it, Em," I said with a laugh, "Just like Sean." She laughed too and looked down. "We have to talk about it, it's what we do, talk about our guys. And if your guy is Sean, I'm totally fine with that." I smiled and hugged her over the chair and she hugged me back.

"Well he _is_ a good kisser," she said. I laughed again and we began talking about random things. She didn't bring up Brysdon and my relationship again, and I was thankful for that. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to explain that I was falling for him when I knew I shouldn't be. I couldn't be.

My phone went off in the middle of our conversation about which of Damien's ex-boyfriend's we had like the best (don't ask me how our convo ended up there) and I picked it up, already knowing it was Shannon from the Jaws theme song ring tone.

"Talk to me," I said, answering the phone.

"Very Jesse Katsopolis," Emily said from beside me.

"Jesus, can you ever just stay in one place, Rose?" Shannon's shrill voice came from the receiver.

"Oh, my gosh! Shannon, is that you?!" I said in fake excitement. Emily muffled a laugh and flipped her hair in a valley girl style to imitate my cousin.

"Hysterical. We come back from dinner and find you nowhere in site, no note or anything! How did we know where you were? Something could have happened, and you didn't even call! After what happened today...ugh!"

"Sorry, Shannon," I told her, completely serious now. She sounded so genuinely concerned that I sat up straighter in my chair. "I just went to Emily's for a few hours, no big deal. I'm fine, I'll be home in a few."

"Don't expect us to pick you up either! You find your own ride!" I hung up the phone and lazily got out of my chair to stretch.

"What was that about?" Emily asked me.

"Shannon. She seemed...scared for me. I didn't leave a note or call them to tell them I would be here. I better get going." We did our handshake and gave each other a big hug. "I guess I'm walking home," I laughed, "Didn't think about that when you picked me up before."

She laughed too. "I know! I forgot my parents were out tonight and they need two cars. Don't ask me why, I can't understand anything they do." We laughed again and walked inside. "But I don't want to make you walk home in the dark Rose. Not after what happened today." She looked up at me and we stopped walking. We were in her living room and some one had left the TV on blaring to life. "I was really scared you know, when I found out you were attacked. They told me you were fine, but it was...really scary." Her eyes were starting to tear up so I hugged her to me.

"It won't happen again. I'll get a ride home, I promise." We sat down on the couch and I started going through my contacts. I dialed Pete's number first, hoping he would pick up, but he never did. Then I called Erik. Then Kevin. _Come on, Kellen,_ I thought to my self, _pick up, pick up, pick up._

"Hello there, beautiful," his deep voice answered.

"Kellen! Oh, jeez. I need to ask you a favor. Do you think you could give me a ride home from Emily's? I came hear and I didn't know that-" I started to explain but he cut me off.

"Give me five minutes," he said and hung up the phone. I blew out a relieved breath and sunk down in the couch next to Emily.

"Kellen is coming?" She asked.

"Yeah, he said he'd be here in five minutes."

"Oh." But it wasn't just any 'oh'. It had meaning.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She said, lifting the remote and pointing at the TV to change the channel.

"You said 'oh'," I stated simply.

"Lot's of people say 'oh', Rosie."

"Oh no, no, no. That wasn't just an 'oh', it was an _'oh'_. Big difference." I told her.

She turned off the TV and sat up straighter in her chair. "Well, it's just that you'll be in a car with Kellen."

"Yeah, so?"

"Alone." She said.

"Yeah I know." I wasn't really getting her point, even though I kind of guessed where she was going.

"Well, I don't know if you have pick up on this, but Kellen kind of likes you," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, but we're just friends now. We aren't seeing each other." I told her firmly.

"But, _he still likes you_," she said, "And this _is_ the Gallient. This is the perfect time for him to... you know, show interest in you."

"You mean court me?" I blurted out.

"Yes, dumbass, he might court you. Being alone in a car together..." she trailed off. Realization slapped in the face, and I was suddenly very nervous for the car ride home.

**Yes, I do like cliffies. Review!**

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	23. Why me?

**I told you I would update as soon as I got back! It felt so good to come back last night and find out I had so many reviews and alerts and favorites! You guys are the bomb! So this ones pretty long, as promised, and I hope you like it. If not...well, then sorry. I think you'll like it though! Thanks again -Molly Rose **

**p.s. I'm one away from 200 reviews! I'll give a shoutout to the 200th reviewer! hahaha**

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"Well, that's the doorbell," Emily said after we heard the ring.

"Obviously," I muttered. I got up off the couch and walked to the door.

"Have fun," she said, then patted me on the back and went upstairs. I made a face at her back and opened the door. Kellen was leaning against the doorframe with his keys in hand. He was adorably cute, but I found that I was less attracted to him as I was before. He seemed...less mature than I saw him, and I knew it had to do with how I saw Brysdon. Brysdon was so...grown up.

"Thanks for coming, Kellen," I said as I walked out onto the porch and shut the door behind me, "I'm really sorry to make you drive out here." We started walking back to his jeep and he opened the door for me to get in.

"No problem, what are friends for?" He said and shut my door. He jogged around the front of the car, hopped in the driver seat and pulled out of the driveway. I noted he said 'What are _friends_?' for, and that made me feel better. A little bit. I turned on the radio so it would be harder to talk, and leaned back in my seat. A CD of some screaming band started playing.

"Ugh, what is this crap?"

"This is good music," he laughed.

"You can't even _hear_ the music, it's just some guy screaming bloody murder."

"Look under the seat for the CDs and pick out something you like." I bent over and picked up the CDs, then started going through them one at a time. There was one in the middle of the deck that was pink and bright orange that caught my attention.

"I can't believe you still have this!" I told him. I was becoming less and less tense as the car got closer to my house. The CD was one we made in fifth grade of all the good Disney songs we liked. I thought the outside looked too bland, so Emily and I painted it with neon orange and pink nail polish.

"Of course I still have it," he laughed, and then turned and smiled at me, "We made it together." And all the tension came rushing back.

"Right," I said awkwardly, then put in the CD and pressed play. 'Hakuna Matata' started playing and I turned up the volume again so it would be harder to talk. I started to sing along to the lyrics, surprising myself that I remembered every word. Once we turned on to my street, Kellen reached out and turned off the music.

"Well," I said as we pulled into my driveway, "Thanks again for the ride home."

"I was actually really glad you called me, Rose. I've been meaning to talk to you." He turned in his seat so he was facing me, and my heart started to race.

"Uh," I fumbled around for words, "Ace is really expecting me, and I should get going..."

"Just give me a minute," he reached out and grabbed my hand that was on the handle of the door. He took it between both of his hands and took a breath. "I really thought about this Rose, and you know that I love you. I like us together, and I thought now would be the perfect time to tell you. I wanted to know what you would think if I courted you." _I would think NO!_ , I thought to myself. How could he spring this on me now?

"I don't know, Kellen, I thought we agreed that-"

"You agreed," he interrupted, "I didn't want to break up." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just promise me you'll think about it, Rose."

"Kellen, I really don't think..." I started to say I don't think we should be together, but he was breaking my heart. Kellen was a great friend, but I didn't want to be together with him. I loved him too, but I wasn't _in_ love with him.

"Just think about it, okay?" He looked at me again and his eyes were pleading. I blew out a shaky breath and replied.

"Okay," I said, "I'll think about it." I took my hand from his and got out of the car. I walked to the door and opened it up, then turned around and waved him goodbye to let him know I wasn't mad at him. I closed the door and leaned back against it, letting my head fall down and my hair cover my face. _Ugh, why me? Why now?_ I thought about what Pete had said to me.

"_Rose," he laughed, "I think it's more than just __**one**__ of the guys."_

The following two weeks I stayed clear of everyone who I thought might court me. I was so jumpy when someone I had ever dated started to talk to me. I felt kind of cocky, thinking anybody might court me, but I didn't want to take any chances. I knew I couldn't do it for long, and it was two weeks later on a Saturday when I finally gave up and started being myself again.

But I was also kind of bummed out, because even though I was steering clear of all male werewolves near my age, it seemed someone was steering clear of me. I know it might seem hard to not see someone who lives with you for an entire two weeks, but that's what happened. For two weeks, I saw Brysdon only once or twice, and by Saturday I was almost positive he was avoiding me.

Which I didn't understand. I mean, he kisses me, and then avoids me. Not something most guys do when they like a girl. Which then got me paranoid that he didn't like me at all, maybe he just wanted to kiss me. You might just think, why don't I go ask somebody where he was? I don't know if you've forgotten, but Ace pretty much ordered me to stay away from Brysdon. It's not like I could go ask Ace, 'Hey, I know you told me to stay away from him, but I really need to ask him why he's avoiding me after he kissed me.' Yeah, that wouldn't go over so well. And Shannon being Daddy's little princess would just tell Ace if I asked her, and I don't think Janice would even know.

I thought about asking Sean a couple of times, but then I thought differently. I didn't want to involve him in all my drama, and trust me, if he thought something was wrong, he'd get involved. So there I was, running in the woods by myself on the way to training. Emily had to help Damien make something they seemed awfully secretive about, and told me they would meet me at training. I had no idea where Sean and Frankie where, but I was sure I would see them in the field also.

When I finally got there, I realized for once in my life, I was at least twenty minutes early. There was a small scatter of werewolves and vampires, but most people hadn't arrived yet. I spotted Frankie and Sean in the middle of the field, so I walked over and transformed into my human body.

Sean turned around and looked at me weirdly. "What?" I asked him.

"Is that...is that Rose?" Sean asked Frankie.

"I think it is," Frank said in the same weird voice.

"Wow, it's a miracle. For the first time in her life, Rose Fairday is early." Oh, now I get it.

"Hysterical, guys, real funny." I said with heavy sarcasm. Sean put his arm on my shoulders and laughed.

"Well, it is unusual. What are you doing here so early? Frank and I got here so we could practice in the ring first."

"I was bored." I said simply.

"Where's my sister?" Frank asked.

"With Damien somewhere. They wouldn't let me come." I pouted like a five year old and crossed my arms.

Frank patted my check and said, "Well then, it was probably for the best. Speaking of birthdays, what are you guys going to get me for mine next week?"

"We weren't speaking of birthdays," Sean said.

"Well, now we are." Frank replied.

I laughed. "I don't know yet. What do you want?" We reached the edge of the field where the rocks were and sat down with everyone else.

"I don't know, anything's fine."

"Liar. Stop being polite and tell me what you want," I said.

He laughed, "I don't know, just something good. You can even make it if you want." He seemed to think about it for a little, and then changed his mind. "Actually, I want something specific from you, Rose."

"And what would that be?" I was staring to get suspicious.

"I want you to sing me the birthday song."

"What?"

"You know, when I'm about to blow out my candles. I want you to sing me the birthday song." He seemed to be serious, so I stopped the laugh that was bubbling up my throat.

"B-but, why?" I stuttered.

"Because, you know how I hate it when people sing the birthday song. It's all confusing and off key and embarrassing. I love it when you sing, everyone does. Please? It would really mean a lot."

"Uh...if that's what you want. But I'm still getting you something else."

"Whatever, as long as you sing." He grinned and seemed happy, and well, whatever makes him happy...We sat and talked for about fifteen minutes until the queen and king walked up to us.

"Hello there, Frank, Sean, Rose," The king nodded to each of us as he said our names. "It's nice to see you. Where have you been all week?" We all looked at each other to see whom he wanted to reply. No one said anything, so I spoke up.

"Well, you know, being on guard, training, tanning," I said with a smile.

"Ah," the queen said, "the joys of summer time. And I am aware that young Frank's birthday is arriving soon on July first. How old will you be?"

"Fifteen," he said proudly. I laughed and ruffled his hair. He was still younger than me, and always would be.

"And Rose, I'm aware you turn seventeen right after Frank, don't you?" Of course, they would know.

"Yep," I said, "July fourth." Some people think having you're birthday on a holiday is so cool. Let me tell you, it's not. People try to combine you're birthday in with the holiday, and then you end up with Independence Day themed presents and birthday parties. When we were younger, our parents tried to combine Frank's birthday, my birthday, and Fourth of July all in the same party, and let me tell you, that didn't last long.

"Wow," the queen said, "You're turning into quite the young lady." I blushed a mumbled a thanks. Most everyone had arrived by then, so Daniel started to speak up.

"Okay everyone, listen up." He waited until everyone was settled and then started. "I know many of you already know this, but there has been another vampire attack on one of our own." Whispers settled over the crowd and Daniel had to calm everyone down again. I looked at Sean and Frank but they just shrugged, telling me they didn't know what happened either. "This new coven is growing larger, and we have reasons to believe they want to attack."

Outraged shouts were said this time, and I looked around to see who was in the crowd. Most everyone was there, and I saw Brysdon standing next to his sister and Diane at the opposite side of the crowd.

"Now don't be alarmed," Daniel said, "We're not sure, but we want to be ready. No one without permission goes out into the woods alone past nine p.m. to five a.m.. I also want to start training combat with the vampires here." Daniel looked down to the king and queen, and the king stood up on a rock like Daniel and began to speak.

"Some of our coven have reason to not want to fight against this specific group of vampires you will be facing," he began. I looked to Brysdon, but his face was the same emotionless expression I always see him wearing. I wondered if he was one of the ones who didn't want to fight because of his brother. I knew he didn't like Devin, but would he be able to fight against him? Kill him, even? I didn't know.

"But," the king said, "All have agreed to help you train. Fighting vampires are very different from fighting other werewolves, and we are here to help you learn." The king stepped down and let Daniel speak.

"So today we will begin training with the vampires, and they will teach us useful techniques. Half of you go with the queen and other vampires on the right side of the field, and half of you go to the left with the king and his group." He stepped off the rock and began counting us off. He pointed to Frank, Sean, and me and said, "Left". So we all walked over to the left side of the huge field and began to stretch.

I noticed Emily and Damien had been shoved off to the right, and Emily caught my eye. We made pouty faces at each other and she held up her thumb and index finger to make an "L" at a slanted angle. We both watched this anime show called "Peach Girl" when we were bored and the boy and girl on the show always signaled each other with an "L" for "Love". So naturally, Emily and I stole the idea and made it our own. I held up the "L" and returned to stretching.

"Okay, everyone," the king said, "Make a circle and we'll have a demonstration first. Then you can split up into separate groups and practice." We all made a big circle and the king stood in the middle. "Brysdon here will show you the moves while I tell you what he is doing and why." My heart accelerated when I saw Brysdon step into the circle with the king. "Let's have a werewolf help him out." I slid back into the crowd, not wanting to be chosen. But of course, fate wanted to embarrass me as much as she can. "How bout you, Rose?"

"Uh..." I started to think of a way to decline but Sean shoved me hard into the circle. I turned and glared at him while I stood next to the king.

"Okay," the king said as he stepped out of our way and toward the edge of the circle, but still keeping inside of it so people could see and hear him. "First, Brysdon will grab Rose by the arm and turn her around." Before I could process what the king was saying, Brysdon grabbed my arm and turned me around.

"Ow!" I yelped as he pulled me against him.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Now, Rose will have to escape by lowering her body weight to her knees and ducking while she throws Brysdon over her head. Go ahead, Rose." I tried to do exactly what he told me, and I think I did it okay except for the fact that it hurt my arm like hell. "Good job, Rose. Do it again." Brysdon got up, took my arm behind my back and pulled me against him again. The king began saying something but I tuned him out and tried to ignore the pain in my arm.

"So," I whispered so no one could hear me, "Are you going to tell me why you've been avoiding me?"

"I have not been avoiding you," he whispered back. I heard the king say "Now" so I flipped Brysdon again. I threw him harder this time, sense I knew what I was doing, and Brysdon hit the ground with a thud. _Whoops_, I thought to myself.

"Now," the king said with a smile, "Brysdon will knock Rose off her feet and get on top of her."

"Brysdon will wha-?" I started to say but the next thing I knew I was falling toward the ground and landed on my back with a thud. My breath got knocked out of me and all I could do was lay there while Brysdon pinned me down by my hands.

"I've just been busy," he said softly while straddling me, "That's all."

"Busy enough to not talk to the girl you kissed, and then ran away from?" I asked.

"Now Rose will have to role Brysdon over so she will be on top of him," the king said. I felt Brysdon's grip loosen, so I quickly pushed all my weight off the ground and rolled us both over.

"I'm sorry I kissed you, Rose," he whispered, "It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

"I'm not," I told him while straddling him. Amusement showed in his eyes, but then he pushed it back and I only saw the stone cold face he always wore.

"We should not kiss, Rose," he said sternly, "No matter how much we may like it."

"Do it again." I heard the king say, so I let Brysdon role us over until I was on the bottom again. The places where his skin touched me were burning, and pleasure fanned out across my body.

"So you did like it?" I asked with a smile.

"I never said I didn't," he told me, "I just said we shouldn't."

"Okay," the king said, "That's enough for now. Everyone split up into separate groups and practice those moves. Good job, Brysdon and Rose." We both got up slowly and I brushed myself off. I looked up to find Brysdon staring at me.

"We'll talk about this later?" I asked him. He simply nodded and left into the crowd.

* * *

**See? I was good, no cliffie! Review plleeassee, shanks ya!**


	24. Only human!

**Okay, I know I'm being a bad author right now, but it's midnight and I'm really tired. So please forgive the editing, I only did a quick once over and didn't change that much, so if you find something wrong, I'm truely sorry. Anywayysss... Thank you so much to Josh T. for your long reviews and being the 200th reviewer! Yay! Thanks to everyone who takes their time to review, it really makes writing this story more fun! Hope you like, this one almost made me cry hahaha...**

"Okay, everyone!" King James said after Brysdon had left into the crowd, "Pair up into partners and start playing around with the moves until your comfortable with them." Everyone split up into pairs of two, and I noticed that Frank and Sean had already paired up.

"Perfect," I mumbled to myself, not wanting to practice the somewhat...intimate positions with others.

"Rose, there you are," James said, coming up to me, "I don't know if you've gotten to know each other, but this is Diane." Diane was standing by his side, trying too hard to look bored.

"Oh," I told him, "We've...uh...talked." Bumping into me in the hallway and then calling me a bitch wasn't exactly getting to know each other, but hey, at least we talked.

"Well, then," James said, "I would like you two to partner up, I think you would make great friends." He walked away with a smile and left me standing with Diane.

"Well," I said, looking at her. Her long hair and slanted eyes were dark and glossy. She was gorgeous. "Why don't we get started?" I motioned her to turn around and stick out her arm, thinking maybe if she did the move first to me, she wouldn't be so hostile. She turned around, and I grabbed her arm and pulled it against me while trying to make small talk.

"Look," I said, "I know we got off to a rough start, and I really think we should start over. We could be friends." She bent over and threw me over her head, and I landed on the ground so hard I groaned.

"Uh," she said, coming over and looking down at me, "I'm not looking for friends, so the answers no." _Ouch_, I thought to myself, _that's harsh._ I almost got up off the ground and tried to make peace again. Almost.

"Ugh!" She said, as I swiped my foot at her legs, making her feet fly up beneath her. She landed on her back with as much force as I did, and I felt a smug smile form on my face. I laughed, but stopped when I felt her toe hit my shin and I stumbled towards the ground. Before I knew it, she was on top of me, locking down my hands and straddling my waist. For some reason, I think I liked it better when Brysdon was on top of me.

"You're gonna regret that, bitc-" she started to say, but I shifted my wait and rolled us over. I pinned her arms and legs to the ground while she started to struggle.

"Look, I'm tired of trying to be nice. What is your problem with me? What did I ever do to you?" I was getting angry now, but I couldn't help it. It was okay when people hated me for a reason, but she didn't even know me!

She shoved me off and I fell to the ground beside her, then we stood up at the same time. "My problem is you. You think you can just butt in to our lives! Look, stay away from Brysdon, you don't deserve him." I was about to respond and ask what she meant by that but I noticed people watching us.

"Is everything okay here, ladies?" James walked up beside Diane and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just dandy, sir," she said.

"Rose, why don't you double up with your Sean and Frank for a bit, huh?"

"Sure," I said, and then walked over to my friends.

"What was that about?" Sean put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me.

"I don't know!" I huffed, "She doesn't like me, and I don't even know why!"

"I think I know why," Franks mumbled.

"What?" Sean and I said in unison.

"Well, I overheard my dad and James talking, and Brysdon and Diane use to go out. They broke up about two years ago, but I don't think it was mutual, if you know what I mean." He motioned over to Diane, who was fuming.

"So what?" I said.

"So, I don't know, maybe she's...jealous." I looked at Frank who shrugged, and then to Sean, who didn't seem to have an opinion at the very moment.

"She doesn't have to be so rude."

"So," Sean said, obviously trying to change the subject, "Daniel said that there was another attack besides Rose. I wonder what that's about?"

"Yeah, I haven't heard anything either."

"Me either," Frank said, running his fingers through his short red hair, "But I hope who ever was is okay. You were lucky Brysdon was there to save you Rose." Sean gave me a weird look and then called Erik over.

"Hey, man. Do you mind practicing with Frank while I talk to Rose for a second."

"Sure," Erik said, "Come on, bro, let's se what you got." They started practicing the moves and Sean led me towards the outside of the circle.

"What's up?" I asked him.

He sighed. "I didn't want to say this in front of Frank, but I have a feeling I know who got attacked." My breath caught in my throat, and it was a moment before I could say anything.

"Who?" I asked him.

"Well, Rick was suppose to be a guard with me this morning, but someone else came instead. And he didn't come play soccer today like he said he would."

I gasped. "You think it was Rick?"

"No, because I talked to Rick on the phone before we came, and he told me he was fine, and he didn't say anything else. But I saw his mom with Jona this afternoon, and she was crying."

"I don't understand," I told him, confused, "If it isn't Rick, then why..." but realization suddenly slammed into me. "Brittany." I whispered, more to myself than Sean.

"That's why I didn't want Frank to hear," Sean said, his voice was lower now, "I know how much he likes her." I felt like crying. Brittany was Rick's little sister, but she was almost like everyone's little sister. She was so shy and sweet, no wonder Frank liked her.

"But," I said, water rimming my eyes, "She's not a werewolf. She's only human. She's only fourteen."

"I know," Sean sighed, "That's why I'm guessing she's pretty hurt. I don't think the vampire bit her, we would have known by now if that happened, but she's probably really hurt."

"How could they do that?" I asked him, "How could they hurt her? She's only human!"

"I know," he said again and hugged me, "But we can't tell Frank, yet. Let Jona and Elizabeth tell him, he needs to focus right now." I looked over to where Frank and Erik were laughing as Frank tried to pin him to the ground.

"Okay," I said again, "But I want to go over after training and visit her."

"That's fine, I was planning to go check up on Rick anyway." He hugged me again and then let go, and we continued training.

The remainder of the night was long and tiring, and by the end I was so anxious to go see if Brittany was okay. Sean and I went home to take a shower and change so we weren't dirty and smelly, then we took Ace's car and drove to Rick's. When we got to his house, I noticed there were two cars in the driveway, indicating that they were home. We got out of the car and I took my time walking to the door and ringing the bell. Rick answered the door after the second ring, and I noticed he had big dark bags under his eyes.

He gave out a short laugh when he saw us and opened the door wider. "I should have guessed you would figure it out before everyone else," he said to Sean.

"How's she doing?" I asked, while Rick closed the door behind us. He blew out a sigh and shook his head. There seemed to be a lot of sighing lately.

"We couldn't take her to a regular hospital, she had to many unexplained bites and scratches. Plus, they would want DNA samples and, it was just too much. Luckily, the vampire's Doctor, Henry or something, checked her out. We also had some other doctors from the tribe look at her." He led us up the stair and down the hall to the door that I knew was Emily's. I remembered helping Brittany pick out which dress she was going to wear to her eighth grade formal in there.

"Be quite," he whispered to us, "She might be sleeping." He slowly opened the door to reveal a bright pink and purple room. The bed was a sleigh bed with a princess canopy, and there were posters of the 'Jonas Brothers' and other various bands on the wall. The room was cute, but the site of Brittany on the bed washed it all out. The covers ended at her waist and she was wearing only a blue sports bra, but bandages covered most of her body. Her face was a mix of cuts and bruises with one black eye, and her hair was a tangled mess. She was a beautiful girl, but her arms were bruised and covered in dried blood, while I could only imagine what her legs looked like. If not for the fact that her chest was slowly rising and falling, she looked so pale and frail that she could be dead.

Tears started to sting my eyes again, and I stepped out of the room before I started full out crying. Sean and Rick came out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"She has a broken leg and a few broken ribs. There were some deep cuts on her arms and legs, but everything else is just bruised and scratched." I noticed for the first time that his fists were clenched and the veins in his neck were popping out. "I swear to god," he said, "Those bastards are going to get it. I'm going to make them wish they never laid a hand on her." He looked so angry and tired that I almost stepped away from him.

Sean put his hand on Rick's shoulder and squeezed it. "I know man," he said, "We'll get 'em." Sean sounded so promising, and Rick started back down the hall. I took his hand and squeezed it while we walked down the stairs and to the door. When Rick reached for the knob it suddenly opened, and there was Frank standing swollen eyed on the porch steps. No one knew what to say at first, but Rick finally broke the ice.

"She's upstairs in her room," he said softly, "Be quiet, she's sleeping." Frank nodded, then pushed passed us and rushed up the stairs. "Poor kid," Rick muttered, then said goodbye and closed the door.

The whole ride home was silent, and I was grateful for that. When we finally got home, it was already eleven, and Ace was waiting for us in the kitchen. I left the boys talking in the kitchen, then went upstairs and went to bed.

**Boohhooo**


	25. AN sorry!

**So, you can go ahead a yell at me now. I'm leaving for camp on July sixth (which is tomorrow) and I won't be back until July 18th, so don't expect updates for a while. When I get back I will update right away I promise! I'm sorry to all who have been waiting, I completely love you but I just hadn't had time. So I WILL update RIGHT AWAY when I get back. Thanks to all, Molly Rose**


	26. Little green frog

**Hello, everybody! Obviously I am back from camp, and I am so glad. I just got back yesterday, so I spent all morning writing this chappie. Camp was fun, but having my computer, iPod, TV, and friends are better. I came home to find all of your reviews, alerts, and favorites and I think I about died. You guys are the freaking best, I mean it. It just gets a little scary now because I don't want to disappoint anyone. So I'm very sorry if you get disappointed in me...my bad. But I think you might like this chapter, it was fun to write.**

**A lot of you complained that the last chapter had no Brysdon in it, so this was is basically all Rose and him. I hope you like it! -Molly Rose**

I couldn't get to sleep. I tried and tried, but I just stayed awake for hours. I was burning up, and my sheets were clinging to me with my sweat. I flipped my pillow over a million times, trying to get cooler, but it always just got heated up again. I got up to get a washcloth, then went to the bathroom and soaked it with cold water. I went back to my bed, lay down, and put the cloth on my forehead. Still, I couldn't sleep.

I thought about Brittany, and how it was a miracle they didn't kill her. She was so small, so human. Poor Rick, and Frank. I thought about Logan and Sheldon too, about how the vampires attacked me in the woods. But mostly, I thought about Brysdon.

It was weird how I felt about him. At first he was a little intimidating and scary, like a dark figure that was just there. I found myself catching my breath around him, waiting for something to happen. But now I caught my breath because... I couldn't answer that question. I liked him. I liked him a lot.

When he started ignoring me, I felt a whole in my chest. I loved it when we talked, when he touched me, when he looked into my eyes like he was telling me one of his darkest secrets, even when he was just asking me a simple question. Why was he ignoring me? We got along so well, I thought he felt the same way about me as I did him. It just didn't make sense, I decided. I needed to talk to him, right away. I made up my mind I would talk to him tomorrow, as soon as I saw him. The tight feeling in my chest was eased a little, but it was only replaced by a dreading feeling. What if he told me he didn't want to be friends anymore? I didn't think I could take that. After another half hour of worrying, I was finally able to ease my self to sleep.

The next morning I woke up to darkness. I knew it was too early but I also knew I couldn't get back to sleep. I looked at my ihome on my bedside table, and it read four-thirty a.m. I decided to get up anyway, and maybe work out a little; it always helped me release stress. I put on some work about clothes and put my hair in a ponytail, then headed downstairs for breakfast. I put two lean pockets in the microwave, and read a little of my book while I waited for them to finish.

"You are my life now," I read Edward's quote out loud from my twilight book. If only that could be said to me, I thought. I heard the beeping from the microwave a few minutes later and got my food. Once I ate, I brushed my teeth and headed out the door to the woods. I thought about bringing my cleats, but I didn't really need them now that I was a werewolf. I couldn't remember the last time I wore them, and that thought alone made me a little sad.

I missed it so much. I missed the coin flip and picking sides. I missed assigning positions and the kick off. I missed taking corner kicks, and making a break away past the other team's defenders. I missed making goals.

I need to stop, I thought to myself. Having a pity party won't solve anything. I transformed into my wolf form and ran to the field, my legs felt stiff from sleeping, but as I ran they warmed up and became loose. Once I got to the field, I switched back to my human body and ran over to one of the goals where a couple of soccer balls had been placed inside the net. I grabbed a couple, and then went out a little past the eighteen and put them down. I lined the balls up in a row, and then started kicking them towards the goal.

I did this for about a half hour, humming to myself in the process. At one point I saw a toad hopping through the wet grass from the early morning dew. It reminded me of a song my brother and I would sing when we were little and I started laughing.

"Mmm Ah went the little green frog one day," I sung to myself,

"Mmm Ah went the little green frroooggg,

Mmm Ah went the little green frog one day,

Cause his eyes went 'Mmm Ah Mmm'.

'Honk Honk' went the big bad truck one day,

'Splish Splash' went the little green frroogg,

And his eyes didn't go Mmm Ah anymore,

Cause he got licked up by a dog,

Roof Roof!" I laughed to myself again, this time because I realized how disturbing the song really was.

"Nice song," I heard from behind me, and I didn't need to look back to see who it was. Brysdon walked up next to me as I kicked another ball in the goal.

"My brother and I use to sing it when we were little, and it was just now that I realized that it's probably not the best kid song." I chuckled to myself a little, and then silence fell between us. He was wearing a black beater that clung to his sculpted muscles and perfect abs, and loose black sweats. But lately I found myself looking into his deep eyes, rather than his perfect body. They weren't as dark this morning, telling me he probably fed late yesterday.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked him. We were standing a few feet away from each other, so I kicked another ball to distract myself. The ball spun up in the air and landed in the left upper 90 of the goal.

"Nice kick," he said. "And I was already up, but I heard you go downstairs and out the door, so I followed you." I felt a little tug in my chest when he said he followed me. It wasn't the first time.

"I didn't sleep all that well," I told him truthfully. "I woke up early to kick the ball around. It helps me relieve stress." When I said 'stress' I slammed another ball at the goal, this time missing by a long shot. "Whoops," I said, and then headed off the find it in the woods. When I came back, Brysdon had taken all the balls I had already shot in the goal a lined them up again.

"Thanks," I told him, and put my own ball beside them. Silence fell again, but this time I didn't kick another ball. I told myself I would talk to him, and now was the perfect chance. What do I say to him? 'Hey, I really like you.' I didn't think that would work.

"Why have you been-" I started to say but at the same time he said, "I just wanted to-". We both shut up at the same time and waited for the other to talk. Thankfully, he started first.

"I just wanted to come out here and talk to you," he told me. I waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" I blurted out. I couldn't help it, I needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he ran his hand through his dark hair, "I've just had a lot to think about, that's all."

"So much that you couldn't talk to me for a couple weeks?" I asked him. I said it calmly so it wouldn't sound like it meant all that much to me, even though it did.

"Rose," he said, as he stepped closer to me and talked a little more slowly, as if I wouldn't understand, "Sometimes, I do things that aren't good for me. After that day we went swimming, I realized that I had...very strong feelings for you. When I saw Logan and Sheldon were going to hurt you in the woods that day," he blew out a breath, "I almost had a heart attack, I was so afraid they were going to hurt you. And sometimes it's easier to ignore my feelings, than to face them. But it was hard to ignore these certain feelings, especially... when we kissed."

"Why?" I asked him, looking into his dark eyes again, "Why are you ignoring it when it's hard for you?" But I knew why.

"Your uncle came and talked to me the day we kissed," he told me. That wasn't exactly the answer I had been expecting.

"Really?" I asked him.

He nodded. "At first I thought he found out that I kissed you, but he didn't. He came to thank me for saving you in the woods."

"That was nice," I said, for a loss of words.

"But he also told me something else." He raised an eyebrow, knowing that I knew what he meant.

"And what was that?" I thought it would be better to hear what my uncle had said to Brysdon exactly.

"He said that he told you to stay away from me," he said in a flat voice. "Is that true?" His voice got a little deeper, which I didn't think could be possible.

"Uh..." I hesitated, "Maybe a little true." I said sheepishly.

"Dammit, Rose!" He bellowed. I was so surprised I jumped about half a foot. "Why didn't you tell me that?" he said angrily, "Do you know how much trouble you could get in if he _did_ find out about us?" Now I got a little angry.

"What _about us_?" I said to him. "There is no _us_. Remember?"

"You know what I mean," he said, calming down. He took a few deep breaths, and then leaned over a put his hands on my shoulders. "This is dangerous, Rose. I'm not good for you. You were meant to get courted by a werewolf, a man who you can get older with and have kids." The sun was rising, and the pink sky was beautiful, but I couldn't help but stare at Brysdon. "I think it's better," he said, "I think it's better if we just...stay away from each other."

I felt like I was punched in the gut. I didn't realize I hadn't taken a breath until I started to get light headed, and my gasp almost came out as a sob. Stay away from each other? I didn't want that. Not at all. He was the one who said he had strong feelings for me! It didn't matter if we weren't _supposed_ to be together. Did it?

"No," I said out loud.

"What?"

"I said no," I told him firmly. "I will not stay away. This makes no sense. You even said that you had strong feelings, and so do I. _Very _strong." I took a breath a leaned closer. "I'm not staying away, it's not fair."

You may say I'm a bold person, but what I did next was beyond bold for me. I leaned in and kissed him. At first, he started to pull back, but I leaned toward him more and grabbed his shirt. Slowly, he started to kiss me back, and then his hands slipped from my shoulders to my uppers arms, then down around my elbows and to my waist. He then slid his hands to my lower back and I pressed my hands flat against his chest. His mouth moved softly against mine, molding and shaping around them. I stuck out my tongue a little a traced his lower lip, and he caught a breath and let out a little gasp. He pulled back a little a whispered against my lips.

"This doesn't change anything," he said, and then kissed me again. We pulled back once more.

"You wish," I said to him, determined.

"How about I make you a deal," he said to me. It had to be better than staying away from each other, I thought, so I nodded.

"We don't ignore each other," _Yes!_ "But we try to be just friends." _No! _I tried not to object, but it sure was hard.

"Do you think that's going to work?" I asked him.

"No," he said honestly, "But the least we can do is try." I thought about this for a moment. As much as I wanted to really be with him, it _was_ a bad idea. Plus, he didn't seem to be in a negotiable mood right now. We pulled away from each other and straightened out clothes.

He looked me up and down once more, than took one more step back. I looked at him questionably, and he said, "Just for good measure." I smiled a little and then looked at the sky. The sunrise was done, and people would be waking up by now. "I better go," he said, "Tell Rick I said sorry about his sister." Then he left me alone, once again.

**Hope you like it! Review!**

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	27. Birthday

**Okay, go ahead and say it, I'm a horrible person. I was at the beach for a week and a half and I hadn't really updated so I'm sorry! But here you go, brand new chapter! This doesn't really have Brysdon in it, so I'm going to warn you now. He will be in the next chapter though I promise!**

**Also, I reread my whole story yesterday and I found so many mistakes in the beggining and I'm really sorry! It bugged the heck out of me and I know it bugged some of you two so I'm sorry and just try to ignore it. Thanks! **

The next couple days passed quickly, and before I knew it I was at the mall with Emily and Damien shopping for Frank's birthday present. We were looking in _American Eagle_ at the moment, because Emily wanted to 'fix' her brother's wardrobe.

"He doesn't even like this stuff," I told them, then picked up a pair of hot pink boxers and threw them at Damien's face.

"That's why we're shopping here," Emily replied, "If he had more preppy clothes, he would learn to like them." She picked up a light pink polo and held it up for Damien to look at it.

"No," he said. "No offense, but pink does not look good on you red heads. Especially Frank."

"Hey! I can pull off pink! Can't I pull off pink, Rose?" Emily said defensively.

"Uh...yeah...sure, whatever." I walked over to the accessories rack, making sure I wasn't pulled into their argument. _American Eagle_ wasn't really my style; I was just tagging along while Emily searched for Frank. After a couple minutes, we left _American Eagle,_ with Emily buying a blue polo and some cargo shorts for her brother. We went upstairs to search around in _Hot Topic_ and _Spencer's_. We even went in some of the game stores, but I just couldn't find anything good.

"At this rate, I'm going to end up just making him a mixed CD," I said as I plopped down on a bench.

"It's not like he cares what you guys give him," Emily said to Damien and me.

"Yeah, I know," I said, "But still, I want to get him something good." We searched around a while more, before coming to the store in the mall called _Zumiez_. We walked in, and I immediately loved it. There was great stuff, but the one thing I was most interested in were the skateboards. Frank loved to skateboard, even though he didn't really need to ride it anywhere like he used to. Now he could just run, being a werewolf and all. But he still did it for fun and skated around with his school friends, just like I still kicked around the soccer ball. There was one board up on the wall that caught my attention.

"Excuse me," I asked the cute guy at the counter, "Can I see that board up there?" I pointed to the one I meant. There was a sign that said they weren't suppose to take the boards down for the customers, but I thought maybe they could give me an exception. The clerk gave me a glance, then reached up and took it down.

"Here you go, gorgeous. Anything else I could do for you?" He gave me a wink. Emily chose this moment to but in and she shot me a look with her eyebrows raised.

"Not right now," I told him, "But I'll let you know." I turned around and Emily came over.

"What was that about?"

"Just trying to get the clerk to get the board down for me. Look at this." I ran my hand over the smooth bottom of the board. It was a bright red, and in smooth black lining was an outline of a wolf howling at the full moon. It was amazing.

"That's awesome," Emily said. "He'll love it. How much is it?"

"One hundred and ninety-four dollars," the clerk said. Damien blew out a low whistle from behind us.

"That's a lot of money, Rose," he said.

"I know," I pouted. I looked around the store, noticing that we were the only customers. I looked over at Emily and raised my eyebrows. She smiled, and I was glad we could always tell what each other were saying without having to actually say it. At the same time, we both leaned toward the counter and put our elbows on it, making sure the clerk knew he had our full attention.

"It _is_ a lot of money," I said sadly, making sure he saw how I was biting on my lower lip. He sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly.

"Too bad," Emily said, and I could tell she was leaning over the counter a little too far.

"If only it was less," I said to her, "Then I wouldn't feel so bad. You wouldn't happen to know if there were any sales, do you big guy?"

"Well, uh...not right now. But I think I could give you a little discount. If I can have your number, that is." _Yes,_ I cheered mentally. So in the end, I walked out of _Zumiez _with a 194 skateboard for 98. And the clerk was left with two made up phone numbers in his front pocket.

"You two are bad," Damien said as we walked to Emily car, bags in hand. "Poor guy thinks he scored a couple of hot chicks."

"What were we suppose to do? Give him our actual numbers? Uh...no thanks. I am completely loyal to Sean right now."

"And even if Brysdon and I aren't going out, that doesn't mean I am going to go around and give random guys my number. He wasn't even that cute." Lie.

"I still don't understand your and Brysdon's..._ arrangement_. Help me out here." Damien opened the door and got in the drivers seat while I hopped in next to him and Emily got in the back. I sighed. How could I explain it to him when I didn't even understand?

"We both know it's not a good idea to be together, so I guess he just wants to try and be friends for now, and see what happens. I don't like it, but I guess he has good intentions." I sighed again.

"Well if you ask me," he said, pulling out of the parking lot, "He's still extremely scary looking. I mean like, he makes me nervous to be around him."

"No one asked you," I growled.

"I don't know, Rose," Emily said, "I kinda have to agree with him. Brysdon is very handsome...but he seems kinda dangerous." I turned around in my seat and glared at her for a few seconds before she started back tracking. "I..I- mean, that must be what you like about him right? Uh...never mind." Damien didn't stop laughing for the whole ride home.

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"Ssssshhhhhhhh! We don't want to wake him up!" Erik hissed. Erik, Emily, Sean, Kellen, Kevin, Pete, and I were all upstairs in Emily's house crouched in front of Frank's door with buckets full of Gatorade in our hands. For everybody in the pack's fifteenth birthday, we always played one prank on them the morning of. Sometimes it was when they just woke up, or when they were in the shower, or at breakfast... but we decided to have a little fun with Frank's. It was 12:01 am, so the morning of Frank's birthday had just started. It was Erik's idea to fill up buckets of Gatorade and dump them on Franks while he was sleeping, and we all thought if was brilliant.

I eased open the door and everyone slipped through, and then I tip toed over to his bed.

"On the count of three," Erik said, "One...two...three!" Everyone dumped their buckets of Gatorade on Frank's sleeping form. He woke up when Erik shouted three, so he got a bucket full of Gatorade right away. Before we knew it, he was wiggling around, trying to cover his face.

"Hey! W-what are you doing?!" Another bucket got poured on top of him. "Stop it!" I dumped my bucket on him and he got a mouthful of it. He tried to get up but he tripped on his blankets and fell to the floor. By then, we were all cracking up at the sight of him and we all screamed "Happy Birthday!" Then we all ran out of his room like giggling five year olds.

"That was great!" I said and gave Erik a high five.

"Thanks, I feel kinda bad for him though. He's going to have to take five showers to get it all off of him, not to mention out of his bed sheets." We all laughed again before saying goodnight and heading back to our houses. Sean and I drove home on his motorcycle, and by the time we were inside it was almost 12:30.

"I better get to bed," he said yawning, "I have first shift in a couple hours."

"Ooohh, sucks. Goodnight."

"Night," he said, climbing up the stairs. I went to the kitchen to grab my 'Twilight' book and some food, then went up stairs to my room. I undressed, ate my food, then hopped into bed and turned on the light on my nightstand. I fell asleep reading about vampires.

I woke up the next morning to bright light shining through my window. I rolled over and looked at my iHome, which read one o'clock. I bolted upright. I had slept for almost thirteen hours! Whoa. I must have been really tired. I got up and took a nice hot shower, then got out and put on some clothes. Downstairs in the kitchen, Ace and Janice were both sitting down at the table eating.

"Good morning," I said as I put two lean pockets in the microwave.

"Good morning? More like Good Afternoon, sleepy head," Ace commented. "You must have been exhausted."

"I was," I said as a sat down and started eating.

"Frank told us about your prank," Janice murmured quietly. She stifled a laugh as a shot her a grin.

"Yes, Elizabeth wasn't happy," Ace said, "She was complaining how she'll never get the Gatorade out of his sheets."

"Blame Erik, it was his idea." I laughed again at the sight of seeing Frank fall on the floor out of fright. "Where's Sean?"

"He had shift this morning, so he came back and took a nap but I think he's at Emily's now." I had gotten use to the fact that Sean and Emily were officially an item. No reason to deny it. Last night they had kissed hello and kissed goodbye, and I had seen the way my cousin looks at her. It's pretty cute, I'll admit, but it was still weird going to Emily's to hang out and finding out my cousin was already there. I was just hoping I wouldn't walk in on them. Ew.

"Frank's party starts at three," Ace said while getting up and taking his dishes to the sink, "Have you wrapped your present?"

"Yep, yep! Already to go."

"Well then I'm heading over to talk to Daniel about some...things. You be at Frank's by three, okay?" I nodded but I couldn't help my next question.

"Do these _things_your talking about with Daniel involve the vampire coven?" Daniel and Jona hadn't said anything about the coming battle except for the training sessions, and I was eager to accept any news.

"I have become aware that Hannah and James know some of the vampires..." he trailed off, trying to think of words to not give anything away.

"I know about Devin and Logan," I blurted out, hoping that he would tell me more if he knew that I knew about it.

"You do?" he asked, surprised. "How do you know that?"

"Brysdon told me," I said, then regretted my words as my uncle's eyebrows raised in anger, "I-I mean, when he saved me, you know, to explain how the vampires who attacked me knew his name. That's all." I stuffed my face with the last piece of lean pocket so I wouldn't say anything more.

Thankfully, all my uncle did was mumble a 'humph'. "We have learned that this coven has every intention to attack," he said, his voice lower now. "But we don't know exactly why. They seem to be out more for the werewolves rather than the vampires, but since they're here, it's like a bonus for them. Killing two birds with one stone."

"What do they want with us?" I asked him, getting up and putting my plate in the sink as well.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," he said grimly, then kissed me on the forehead and walked over to do the same to Janice, "But don't worry, we'll figure it out. After what happened to Brittany...well, we can't ignore the threats anymore." With that, he left us in the kitchen and went off the Daniel's house.

Two and a half hours later I was in my bathroom blow-drying my hair. I had put on some jean shorts and a green tank top with my bathing suit underneath and then slipped on some green flip-flops. My hair was blown out into its natural curls and it became soft and shiny. I grabbed the wrapped present and headed down stairs to the kitchen.

Like always, by the time we left the house, it was already three thirty. Elizabeth had decorated the front yard with blue balloons everywhere that said 'Happy Birthday Frank', which I knew he was embarrassed by. After rushing out of the car and reaching the door, Ace opened it and we all filed in. Music was playing from the back yard and the smell of food and charcoal wafted towards us.

"Finally!" Emily said, coming from the living room to greet us. She gave me a hug and kissed Sean on the cheek. "I thought you got lost!" We all walked to the back of the house and out onto the deck.

"Yea, well, miss pretty princess here took so much time primping," I said, knowing they thought I was talking about Shannon and then pointing to Sean. He grabbed my finger and bent it back so far I yelped.

"Please, you two," Ace said, "Can you please mind your manors for at least a couple hours? Huh?" He took Shannon's hand and walked her down to the pool where some people were chatting in the lawn chairs. There was a big banner hanging from the deck that said 'Happy 15th Birthday Frank!' and through the window I could see a huge cake on the table.

"Where's your brother, Bubba?" I asked Emily as I put the present down on a table with all the other wrapped gifts.

"He was in the living room talking with some school friends, but I don't know where he is now. You want me to go find him?" Her and Sean were holding hands now and looking at each other, so I declined the invite and went inside by myself. I walked around the different rooms, greeting family and friends and people I hadn't seen in a long time. At one point I finally found Frank sitting on the steps with Rick and Ryan.

"Hey, Birthday Boy!" I greeted while he got up and hugged me. I said hi to Ryan and Rick and then sat down with them.

"For the next three days I'm technically only one year younger than you, Rosie," Frank said, smiling, "And then you turn seventeen and we go back to being two years apart." I laughed and nudged him.

"You're still going to sing for me, right?" he asked.

"Oh...yeah..." I had totally forgot.

"Okay everyone! Time for birthday cake and presents!" Elizabeth announced.

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Review Please!


	28. He's happy

**Thanks for the reviews I got on the last chapter! I decided I missed so much time writing, that I would post this one right away. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, even if it doesn't have any big love scenes. It shows Brysdon and Rose's relationship from someone elses point of view, I guess you could say. Let me just say that Amanda and Rose have an interesting talk. I hope to post the next chapter either today or tomorrow, so more is coming. thanks you! Read and review pleease!**

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Everyone walked to the kitchen and out onto the deck where Frank sat down at the table and Elizabeth placed the cake in front of him. Someone moved all the presents on one table besides us, and balloons were tied to the chairs. The deck became crowded, so some people, including Emily and me, sat on the railings.

"Okay, everyone," Frank announced, "Rose agreed to sing the birthday song for me. You're on, Rosie." Everyone turned they're eyes toward me and I laughed. I began singing slowly but loudly, pronouncing each word with meaning to make the song longer. I looked at Frank while I sang, and he was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

"Happy Birthday, dear Frankieeee," I paused shortly,

"Happy Birthday...to yooouuuuuuu," the last line I made extra long and I hit the last note perfectly. Everyone began clapping and whistling and I got up to hug Frank.

"Thanks," he whispered in my ear.

"Alright, Frank, why don't you open some presents while I serve out ice cream and cake." I laughed at his mom's enthusiasm while he picked up a present.

He opened Emily's first and looked at the clothes. He told her thank you, even though I knew he was only going to wear them to school when she forced him to. Sean and Damien got him tickets to a professional football game, and Rick gave him money.

"This one's from Brittany," he said, and handed Frank a small box. He opened it up, and inside was a weaved necklace with a small medallion hanging from it. I couldn't see it exactly but the hemp was black and the medallion was silver. He put it on right away, and I had a feeling he wouldn't take it off for a very long time.

"She made it," Rick told him proudly. Frank grinned and said he was going to thank her a soon as he could. He continued to open presents and he finally got to mine.

"That ones from me," I said, throwing my plate in the trash. He ripped open the wrapping paper and then tore open the box. He lifted the board carefully out of the box and ran a hand over the top of it.

"Woahhhh!" His friends from school exclaimed, and they rushed over to look at it. He flipped it over and his eyes widened at the black wolf howling at the silver moon.

"That's such a tight board, man!" His friend said.

"I hope it's big enough, that was the biggest size they had," I told him.

"It's perfect, Rose!" He got up and hugged me. "This must a cost a fortune!" I looked at Emily and she giggled.

"Nah," I said simply and sat back down.

He continued to open the rest of his presents and thanked everyone loudly. He asked Jona if he could go out front quickly and test out his new skateboard with his friends, and Jona complied. Emily, Sean, Rick, and I all got in the pool and started splashing around, and then Kellen, Erik, Kevin and Pete all joined us. Once Frank came back with his friends, they got in also. Amanda was sitting on the deck talking with another vampire girl, and when she noticed me she smiled and waved.

"Come in with us!" I told her.

"I don't have a suite with me," she laughed.

"Nonsense," Emily said, "I have so many extras. You want to borrow one?" Amanda looked a little hesitant at first, but then she smiled and nodded. Emily got out and went upstairs with Amanda and her friend, and they came back down a few minutes later in Emily's bikinis. Unfortunately, Amanda saw Diane on her way to the pool and invited her in also. So Diane ended up borrowing _another_ one of Emily's bikinis and before we knew it, Brysdon and Greg got it also. It was a good thing the pool was so big, or we would all be rubbing up against each other. I tried not to look at Brysdon so much, but his bare chest and defined muscles made it hard not to look. Plus, he was taller then pretty much everyone in the pool, which made him stand out the most. We all splashed around and jumped off the diving board for a while and just had a good time.

I started noticing that one of Frank's school friends was following me around, but I ignored him. At one point, he accidentally rubbed up against my stomach, and he was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak and was just blushing like crazy.

"S-sorry, I-I didn't mean to..." he stuttered.

"It's okay," I laughed and smiled at him. He wandered off towards Frank, and Amanda swam up next to me.

"What?" I asked her.

"He has a crush on you," she laughed.

"Not uh."

"Yep," she said, "I can hear his heart beat. Every time you come into a five foot range of him its speeds up until I think it might burst." She laughed again and I couldn't help but laugh with her. "Too bad he doesn't have a chance. This heart," she said, pointing to my chest, "is taken." I stopped laughing and looked at her.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I might be a vampire, Rose," she said, "But I'm also a girl. And girls have an uncanny ability to detect when two people are falling for each other."

"I don't know what you mean, Amanda," I told her, looking around us to see if anyone was listening. Luckily, everyone was busy trying to dunk Greg and Sean under water.

"Look, Rose, he's my brother. I can see him changing. He smiles more and he looks at you all the time." She smiled at her brother while she watched him push Greg under water.

"He does?" I asked her, pleased by the news and forgetting my pretense not to know what she was talking about.

"I know Diane is probably not the nicest person to you, but I promise, she's really not that bad. She's just jealous because she sees my brother looking at you, too, and she knows that he never looked at her like he does you." She smiled at me and took my hand. "I just want him to be happy. Screw it if you're not suppose to be together."

I was so taken aback that I didn't know what to say. Was Brysdon really changing because of me? It was hard to believe. But she had said 'when two people were falling for _each other_'. Did that mean he was falling for me too? I looked at him again from across the pool. He was laughing as Frank and Sean tried to dunk him.

"Look at him, Rose," she said, startling me from my pondering, "He's _happy_."

"That's not necessarily because of me, though, Amanda. I don't know if he told you, but we agreed that-"

"You'll just be friends, blah, blah, blah. I think it's just a load of bullshit. Look, my brother's just trying to do what he thinks is best for the coven, and for you and your tribe. For once in his life, he needs to think about what's best for him." And with that she dived under water and swam towards Diane and her friend. I stood there for a moment, thinking about what she had said. He did look happy, happier than when I first met him, at least. He's opening up more, I could tell, allowing himself to smile and laugh with the other werewolves.

"What was that about?" Sean asked, swimming up besides me.

"Uh, nothing," I told him.

"But-" he began, but Kevin cut him off.

"Chicken fight!" He yelled. Everyone scrambled to get a partner, and I noticed Frank's friend heading towards me.

"Will you be my partner, Rose?" He asked me. He was about my height, but he looked very skinny and not that strong.

"Um," I tried to think of ways to get out of being his partner. I felt guilty, he looked nice enough, but I didn't think he could hold me up for very long.

"Sorry," Brysdon said in his low voice, coming up beside me, "She's my partner." The boy looked a little sad, but then he smiled and looked for someone else.

"Thanks," I told him, while my stomach did a back flip from the way he smiled at me. He didn't say anything else as he went under water and I climbed on top of his shoulders. He grabbed my thighs to steady me, and I put my hands in his thick, black hair while he pushed up. My skin burned where his cool hands touched my legs. My lower stomach was pressed against the back of his head and I wrapped my legs around him to hold on.

Naturally, Emily was on Sean's shoulders, and as she leaned over, her orange hair mixed with his blonde locks. I couldn't help but think they looked so cute together. Amanda had gotten on Kellen's shoulders, and I was glad to see them getting along. Diane had gotten on the shoulder's of Justin, the vampire that was suppose to be my partner on guard that one day in the woods until Brysdon came. Amanda's friend, who name I learned was Shelby, got on Kevin's shoulders, and Suze was on Erik's. Frank had convinced his human friends to sit out one round, so us werewolves and vampires could actually use our full strength on each other. Of course, he didn't tell him that though. Damien, Frank, Rick, and Pete sat with the humans on the edge of the pool, and they declared them selves the judges.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Pete called, and we all spaced out, ready for each other's attack.

"Go for my brother," I heard Amanda tell Kellen.

"Your sister!" I said to Brysdon, and we turned around just in time so I could catch her hands before they grabbed me.

Since I was in my human form, I wasn't as strong and as fast as she was, but Brysdon was stronger and faster then Kellen. He quickly kicked out Kellen's legs from under him before his sister had a chance to push me over. I laughed while I gave him a pat on the head, and they swam over to the wall to sit with the others. We watched Shelby take down Diane and Justin, and I was glad I wouldn't have to face Diane. Suze got knocked off Erik's shoulders pretty quickly, since she was human, and before I knew it, Sean and Emily were the only ones left beside Brysdon and me.

Everyone who got out was sitting along the edge of the pool, cheering for which ever team they wanted to win, and I noticed they were attracting some attention. I took a quick glance to the deck to see who was watching, and I blew out a relieved breath when I didn't see my uncle, Daniel, or Jona. I'm sure my uncle would be so happy to see me on Brysdon's shoulders. Not. Elizabeth was there though, snapping pictures of us all.

I turned around just in time to see Emily grab my shoulders and try to knock me off. In human form, I was a little bigger than Emily's petite form, and stronger too, but Sean was good at pulling away when Brysdon was about to trip him. Our game went on for about five minutes until I was finally able to knock Emily off, and we were all laughing so hard by the end.

"Winners!" Frank declared as he lifted up our hands. I fell back wards off of Brysdon's back into the water and came up grinning.

**Review please, it makes me want to write more!**


	29. Another Birthday!

**New chapter, yeah! Seriously, you should be proud of me for updating so soon. I wrote this chapter like a week ago and decided to wait until I got back from the beach to post it, so here it is! I'm debating wether I should post the next chapter, which I've already written, tonight or tomorrow. Well, read and review please, thanks for all the review from the last chapter. I'll deff give a shout out to my 3ooth reviewer! Yay!**

For the next two days I had a routine of sleeping, eating, going to training, and going on guard. Daniel and Jona thought the vampire's attack was coming soon, so training became more intense everyday. I hadn't seen Brysdon a lot in those three days, but every time I did see him he would smile at me. It seemed like he was always doing something for the royal family, and I rarely saw Amanda either.

"So," Damien asked me as we were sipping on our slushies he had bought us, "You excited about your birthday tomorrow? You turn seventeen." We were sitting at his kitchen table while his mom was cooking dinner.

"I know," I said, "I feel really old." His mom laughed but then continued cooking.

"Do you like it that your birthday will be combined with the Fourth of July party, or do you not?" he asked me.

"When I was little it really bothered me, you know, not getting all the attention. But I don't really mind anymore. Plus, I get fire works just for me!" I grinned at him while he laughed.

"True, true. And you still get presents from people."

"That's always good. Speaking of presents, you want to give me a hint as to what you got me?"

"The only hint I will give you is that Emily and I combined our money to pay for it. And your uncle and her parents helped a little, too."

"They did?" I asked, surprised.

"Just a little, it was mostly us though."

"Hmm," I said, and then immediately froze as my head began to hurt like crazy.

"Brain Freeze?" Damien asked.

"Mm hm." He laughed at me and patted my hand.

The next morning, I woke up to four smiling faces hovering over me. I got so scared that I jumped up and let out a little scream.

"Happy Birthday!" Sean, Janice, Shannon, and Ace all exclaimed. They handed me a big plate of chocolate chip pancakes with a candle on top. "Your favorite breakfast," Ace said.

I laughed and took a bite. "Thanks guys," I told them and blew out the candle.

"We'll leave you to get changed, then come down and join us, okay?" I nodded and they all left my room and closed the door. I looked at the clock and saw it was nine thirty in the morning. I put the plate down on my bedside table and lay back down on my bed.

"I'm seventeen," I whispered to myself, not really believing it. I knew my mom had me at six thirty in the morning, so that meant I was officially seventeen.

Which also meant that it has now been seven years since my family died. I quickly shook my head as to clear it and wiped that thought out of my head. Today was my birthday, I thought to myself, I can mourn later. I got out of bed and took a shower, allowing the hot water to sooth me and wake me up. I dried off, got dressed, and then went down stairs to finish breakfast with my family.

"So the Birthday/Independence day party will be in the park, the same place where we had the opening party. It will start at six o'clock, so nobody be late." He said the last part while looking at Shannon purposefully.

"_What?_" She said to him.

Ace ignored her and turned to me. "Damien and Emily want to give you your present early, so go over to Emily's around five forty five, okay?"

"I'll take you," Sean said to me, "So we can all go to the party together."

"Okay," I said to them and put my dish in the sink. I started to leave, but Ace called me back in and dismissed everyone else. I sat down at the kitchen table next to him and he cleared his throat.

"What is it Ace?" I asked him.

"Rose," he told me, "I'm really not suppose to give this to you until you turn eighteen next year, but I don't think your parents would have minded. You have grown up so much, and I'm so proud of you. I think you deserve this." He took a white envelope from his pocket and put it on the table in front of me. I began opening it as he explained to me. "It's part of your parents savings. I thought I would give it to you now so you could put it in your own saving account for safe keepings." I opened up the envelope and saw the number inside. My eyes bulged and I caught my breath. It was **a lot** of money. **A lot**_**. **_And he said it was only part of the money.

"That's only half," he continued, "And the other half will go to you when you're eighteen." My eyes watered up as I looked at him. "Your parents would want you to have some now, I think." I reached out and hugged him.

"Thank you," I told him, for lack of better words. He was proud of me, I thought to myself. "This means a lot."

"Well, now," he said, "Off you go. Training starts in five minutes, we're having it early today. I don't want you to be late." I laughed and got up from the table. Before leaving the room, I turned around again and thanked him before heading off. I put the check on my dresser upstairs, then rushed down to the back yard where Sean was waiting for me. We turned to our werewolf forms and ran to the field as fast as we could, and got there right on time. We returned to our human form and walked to the center of the field where everyone was gathered.

"Hey! It's the Birthday Girl!" Emily exclaimed as she ran up and gave me a hug. I laughed and hugged her back, then returned Frank's hug as well.

"Finally you're seventeen," Kevin said as he hugged me, "I though you'd be sixteen forever!"

I laughed. "So did I."

"Alright, alright, get in your groups everyone!" Jona called to us. They all split up and Jona told us we were in the ring.

"Anything you want to say to me, Jona?" I smiled at him.

"Hmm, let me think... Happy Independence Day?" He joked, while I scowled at him. He laughed and hugged me, "Happy Birthday Rosie." Then he turned me around and pushed me toward the ring, "Now get to work." Sean and I ran over to the ring and waited until Daniel pared us up and told us to get in. Sean got pared up with Rick, which was always a fun fight to watch because they were both equally big and strong. The match went on for a long time before Rick got tired and Sean finally got him out of the ring. Then he pared me up with Ryan, who I beat, and then Kellen, who I beat.

"Ouch," Kellen said, holding his leg where I had bitten him. I laughed and patted his head while I apologized. He seemed generally happy by the attention he was getting, and I quickly pulled away when I thought about his proposal to court me. The training continued until we were all completely tired, and Daniel called us over to the center of the field to have a meeting.

"We have new news on the whereabouts of the vampire coven, and we have decided that we will go to battle exactly a week from today." Murmurs burst out in the crowd and I looked to Emily with a worried glance. "Not all of you will be fighting, we can't risk the lives of some of our inexperienced werewolves, and some of the vampires, as you know, do not want to fight this specific coven. But I think we're ready, and we can't allow the coven to advance any further." He looked at the crowd, making sure he saw each and every one of us. "I will inform you who I need to fight. It is your choice, but I strongly encourage you to think about your tribe, and the humans you will be saving." He had a final note in his tone, so people started to filter out and go home, but I stayed and wandered over to where Sean, Emily, Frank, and Damien were standing.

"Well, Rose," Damien said sarcastically, breaking the silence, "that puts a happy note on your birthday."

"At least he told us," Sean said, "I was getting sick of not knowing anything around here." Emily took his hand into hers and squeezed it.

"I wander if he'll want me to fight," Frank thought aloud. Truthfully, I was wondering the same about myself. I knew I was fast, maybe the fastest in the tribe, and I was one of the strongest girls. Would Daniel let me fight? Did I want to fight?

Yes, I thought to myself, I did want to fight. I knew it wasn't the coven that had killed my family, but they were same kind of vampires. I would help stop them; I would make sure no kid had to go through what I went through.

Sean pulled me out of my thoughts when he asked me to come to the soccer field and play a game with them. I complied, knowing that was the one thing that could pull my mind out of the clouds. We ran to the field and found that most of the guys had already arrived. Sean and I ended up being captains, so we separated ourselves from the group and started picking. The game was great, my team ended up kicking the other team's ass, but they just claimed they let me win because it was my birthday. Yeah, OK Sean.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I yelled at Sean. It was already five forty five and we hadn't even left for Emily's yet.

"Hold your horses, Rose! It's not like your present is going anywhere!" He came loping down the stairs in his baby blue polo and his nice pair of jeans. His blonde hair had grown out a little and I could tell he put a little muse in it.

"Aw, Sean, you didn't get dressed up for me, did you?" I asked him as we walked out the door. We headed over to Ace's car and got in, knowing that I couldn't ride the motorcycle with the dress I was wearing. It was a halter, white summer dress that had a blue ribbon right under my chest and tied in the back. It was my favorite. I tied my hair at the nape of my neck and let some loose curls fall around my face and wore a pair on white flats that I would most likely take off later.

"Okay," Sean said, when we were about to turn the corner for Emily's street, "You have to close your eyes now."

"What?" I asked him.

"You heard me. Close them now, Rose." I reluctantly closed my eyes as we pulled onto her street and into her drive way. I was so tempted to peek, but I really didn't want to ruin the surprise. I felt the car stop and Sean turned it off, then I felt him get out of the car, close the door, and came around to open mine. He helped me out and led me into the house, where he told me I could open my eyes again.

When I did open them, I found I was in Emily's living room with Damien, Sean, and Emily sitting on the sofa. I looked around the room, but nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Okay," I told them, "What was the point of that?"

Damien laughed. "The point," he said, handing me a small pink box with a bow on it, "Was this." I took the box, still not understanding, and started to open it. Inside the box, I found some keys.

...

Car keys.

I sprinted to the front of the house, and wrenched open the front door. There, sitting in the driveway with a big red bow on the hood, was a car. _My_ car.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed and ran back in the house. I jumped on Emily and Damien and gave them a big hug, than ran back out and ran to my car. It was black, sleek, and sexy. I loved it. I hopped in the drivers seat and started it up. The engine purred to life silently and I squealed. The inside was leather and it smelt like new car. Emily, Sean, and Damien came out of the door and hopped in my car as well.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed. Emily and Damien were laughing from the back seat and said your welcome, while Sean was riding shot gun.

"Emily and I picked this car out for you and paid for most of it," Damien told me. I started to protest, realizing how much this car must have cost, but he stopped me. "It's already paid for, so don't even. Ace and Emily's parents helped out a little, too. I'm sure you can afford some insurance and gas with the check Ace gave you from your parents." He winked at me as I squealed again and leaned back to hug them.

"You guys are the best friends in the world! I love you!" I put both of my hands on the steering wheel and smoothed my hands over it.

"Now let's get going!" Emily said, grinning, "We're already twenty minutes late to your party, Rose!" Sean got out and took off the bow, then got back in and I started to pull out of the driveway.

Once we pulled onto the path that would lead us to the lake where we were having the party, we drove for another five minutes and parked along some of the trees where the other guests had parked. I was a little reluctant to leave my new car, but I was dragged away by my best friends. Once we got there, my uncle and cousins greeted me.

"Happy Birthday, Rose! Do you like the new car?" Ace asked me as I put my stuff down at his table.

"I love it. Thank you so much, Ace." He smiled at me and continued talking to his friend. For five minutes straight I was surrounded by my family and friends greeting me 'Happy Birthday' and telling me how much I've grown up. I loved hearing that they thought I was more mature now, but I hated it when my Mom's old friends would pinch my cheeks and tell me how beautiful I was. What was I? Five? At one point Damien had asked me to dance, saving me from a group of old ladies that were telling me stories from the old days.

"Life saver," I told him as I put my hand in his.

"Oh, yes, Rose, I'm sure you would have died of boredom." We both laughed and began swaying to the music. "Having fun?"

"Definitely. I can't wait for the fire works. And the birthday cake."

He laughed again. "Me too." He looked past my head, and I noticed it was about the third time he had done so.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, not turning my head so I wouldn't look obvious.

"Your man has been staring at you for the past five minutes. Have you seen him yet?" He asked me.

"He's not my man. And no, I have not." _But_ _I had been looking for him_, I added mentally. Damien spun us around so I was facing Brysdon, and I smiled. He was wearing a black dress shirt with a nice pair of jeans, and his hair looked almost purple from the light shinning off of the raven color. He was smiling at me and I smiled back at him, noticing that his face had some more color since the last time I had seen him. I sighed as I watched Brysdon turn to Greg and laugh at something he said. He made my heart thump so hard.

"Did you hear about Suze and Erik?" He asked me, obviously changing the subject.

"What about them?" I asked.

"They broke up."

"What?!" I pulled away, shocked with his statement.

"Yeah," he said, taking my hand and starting to dance again, "I would totally kick his ass if not for the fact that my sister assured me it was mutual. My sister might be a little bit of a bitch, but she's still my sister."

"Wow," I said, still surprised, "They seemed good together."

"I don't know," he told me, "Erik never seemed like he was really...there. You know? Like he wasn't fully into the relationship." I thought about his statement a little until Damien stopped and looked over my shoulder. "Speak of the devil...," he said, and I turned around to see Erik walk up to us.

"May I have this next dance?" He asked me, while Damien just stood there glaring.

"Okay," I told him, while I gave my best friend a pointed look until he handed me over. We started dancing a little, and I waited for him to say something first.

"I'm guessing Damien told you about his sister and I," he said.

"He did. I'm sorry," I told him.

"It's okay, it was time we broke up. It wasn't really working out..." he hesitated and the conversation was starting to give me a bad feeling. "You know it's been a long time since we hung out together."

"Yeah." Keep it simple.

"During this Gallient, I've had a lot of time to see and talk to people I haven't been with in a while." He stared at me again. "I really missed us hanging out."

"Uh, yeah." _Oh god, oh jeez, oh no, _I thought to myself.

"Just me and you." He squeezed my hand and I almost slapped it away. I stared at the stage, willing Emily, who was holding the microphone while talking to the band, to hear my plea. Amazingly, she looked my way and caught my desperate glance.

"Okay," she said clearly, so everyone could hear, "I think it's time that we sung Happy Birthday to the Birthday girl!"

* * *

**Erik you little stinker!**


	30. Dancing and Fireworks

**Hey guys! I decided to post the new chapter today because I got some great reviews. A lot of you weren't happy with the amount of Brysdon in the story, and so this one is full of him. It's not as long as some of the others, but for now on Brysdon will be in most of them, I promise! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, but a special thanks to Josh T. for his 300th review! Yay!**

**And WOAH 30th chappie! Never thought I'd get this far. Thanks guys!**

"Now, I know what you mean," I whispered to Frank. We were standing by the cake and I was waiting for Jona to light the candles.

"About what?" He whispered back.

"About the birthday song, that was pretty embarrassing." I was forced to go up on stage and be sung the birthday song to by everyone at the party. I blushed like crazy until Emily had let me go to blow out the candles.

"Alright, Rose, blow them out and make a wish!" Emily said while her dad stepped away from the cake. I leaned over and blew them out, then clapped along with everyone and gave Emily a hug. Naturally, the cake was Fourth of July themed with red, white, and blue icing and an American flag on top. We served out cake and ice cream, and after twenty minutes I was finally dismissed back to my seat.

"Whew!" I said as I plopped down on my chair next to Janice, "I never knew serving cake would take that long!"

"Well, there are a lot of people here," she commented and then took a bite of her cake. I looked around and saw Shannon waiting by the food table with a drink in her hand.

"What's she doing?" I asked.

She looked over at her sister and sighed. "Shannon is waiting for Kellen to ask her to dance."

"Oh, man," I sighed as I took another bite, "She's still not over him?"

"I think his courtship to you has made her more determined than ever."

"Well, I'll give her props for determination."

By that time it was already dark, and someone had set up lanterns around the dance floor and Christmas lights lining the stage. They would shut them all off when the fire works started, which were any minute. A few minutes later I saw Kevin coming toward me, no doubt wanting a dance, but before he got close Sean pulled me aside.

"Hey," he said to me in a low whisper, "I forgot one of my bags in your car. Do you mind going and getting it?"

"Why are we whispering?" I whispered back,

"Just do it, okay?" He said.

"Bossy, bossy," I told him, but started off towards the woods where my car was parked down the path. I was half way there when I decided to take a short cut by the lake so I could walk along the water. I had taken my shoes off a while ago, so I walked a couple yards to the bank of the lake and dipped my foot in. The water shimmied a little bit, but it soon focused and I could see my reflection in the water. Out of nowhere, I saw the reflection of a hand reach out for my shoulder so I spun around quickly and grabbed the hand of the mysterious person.

And yes, you guessed it, I was grasping the hand of Mr. Brysdon Hollows. I let out a sigh of relief and let go of his hand. He was grinning now, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"You scared me," I told him. He didn't reply, but just kept smiling a little as he pulled out a small box from behind his back.

He handed it to me gently and said, "For the birthday girl." I opened the box carefully and took out the rectangular, velvet case in it. I opened up the case and found a beautiful silver necklace inside. It was a heart shaped locket, and on the front there was an engraving that was in a different language. I ran my hand over the locket and looked up at him.

"Let me guess," I said, pointing to the engraving, "Italian?"

"It means, 'Love is never lost'." I looked up at his big dark eyes and almost melted from the emotion coming from them. "My mother gave it to me when I was young, and I want you to have it."

"Oh, Brysdon, I couldn't." I said, starting to hand it back.

"I want you to have it, Rose." I took it back and started to take it off. I got it out of the case and set it down, and then he took the locket from me and turned me around. I lifted up my hair, and he raised his arms over my head and locked it behind my neck. I touched it with one hand where it rested just above my chest and turned around.

"I love it," I told him. We could still hear the music from where it was playing at the party, and the Hungarian lullaby that we dance to the first night came on.

"May I have this dance?" he asked me and held out his hand. I took it and he led me a few feet away from the water, then he slipped his hands around my waist and I rested mine on his shoulders. He pulled me close and I laid my head against his chest and closed my eyes. We began to sway slowly to the music, and I hummed softly a long to the tune.

"A penny for your thoughts?" I asked him.

"I don't think this whole 'just going to be friends' thing is going to work." He told me. My stomach did a summersault from his deep voice's words.

"I never thought it was going to work," I told him.

He laughed a little and because we were so close we both shook. "I know." We danced for a few more minutes and I couldn't help but smile at how wonderful it felt to be in his arms. The fire works started to go off, and we pulled away to watch them above the lake. He stepped behind me and put his hands around my waist while I leaned back against his chest and watched the fire works.

"Daniel really outdid himself this year," I murmured, "The fireworks are beautiful." He turned me around and ran the back of his knuckles along my cheek.

"Trust me," he murmured, "You put them to shame." He slipped his hands behind my neck and into my hair as he pulled my head to his. Our lips touched softly, and he kissed me delicately for a few minutes. My hands were pressed against his chest, so I wrapped my hands around his shirt and deepened our kiss a little more. He slipped his hands all the way down to my waist and I moved my arms to his neck and put my hands in his hair. He pulled me close and he continued to kiss me slowly but thoroughly.

When I thought I was about to faint from not taking a breath and the kiss itself, he pulled away and began trailing kisses on my neck. We were both breathing very hard, but his was more controlled due to the fact that he needed less air, being a vampire and all. He kissed the hollow of my neck, my collarbone, my check, and my other cheek. By then the fire works were almost done, but we still held on to each other.

I brushed my lips against his again before murmuring, "I think I better get back. They're all probably wondering why the Birthday girl ditched her party."

He moaned a little a frowned. "I think I might go insane if I have to watch you dance with one of those stupid dogs again."

"I'm a dog," I reminded him, trying not to show how much it pleased me that he was jealous.

"But you're not a stupid dog, you're a pretty dog," he told me and kissed my nose. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him before letting go.

"I have to go to the car and get Sean's bag before I go back, though," I told him.

"Okay," he said and started to walk with me.

"You better go back," I said, "They'll get suspicious when they see us walk back together."

"Fine," he sighed, then kissed me on the cheek before heading back to my party. "Oh and by the way," he said walking away, "You should probably still get the bag from the car, but Sean didn't really need it."

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"Well, how do you think I was suppose to get you away from the party without looking suspicious?" He smiled at me, and then walked into the woods.

_Sean_, I thought happily. I was so lucky to have such a great cousin. But how am I suppose to tell him I was head over heels in love with a vampire?

* * *

**Can you say 'awwwww'?**


	31. Piano

**Yes, yes, I know this chapter is not very long...but it's better then no chapter at all right? I mean I don't really have all that much time with soccer starting and school on monday and all the stupid reading I have to do blah blah blah. Thanks for all the great reviews guys! I mean really, that was the most reviews for one chapter that I have ever had, and I'm so thankful!**

**This one's kind of short, so bear with me, I just wanted to put one up. If you guys don't like the short chapters like this just holler, cause I know some people won't like it. It's just that it's better to post a short one in between then a regular one like two weeks apart. The next one will be long I promise!**

**To answer a few questions (yes I know this is a long author's note): **

**1. Yes, my real name is Molly Rose**

**2. I kinda just make everything up as I go along I usually have a basic outline of what I want in the next chapter. **

**Anything else?! Thanks for the reviews guys! You're the best! **

"Mhm," I moaned, waking up from a deep sleep. My eyes fluttered behind my eyelids, and I finally opened them and almost gasped. I was lying in my bed, on top of the covers but with an afghan covering me, and Brysdon was staring back at me. His arms were around my waist as he held me close and my arms were tucked in his chest. His big, black-green eyes were staring at me, and when he saw I was awake he smiled.

"Hey," he said in a deep, hoarse voice, and kissed my forehead.

"Hey," I smiled back as I remembered last night.

-- _**Flashback to night before**_--

The party was great, and I was so happy with my new car. People started trickling out a little before midnight, and I drove Sean and I back to our house in my car. I had said goodbye to all my guests, packed up my presents, and Daniel said he would take care of the leftovers. Once we got back to the house, we saw that Ace had already gotten home with the girls and Brysdon, so we went in quickly and quietly.

"Goodnight, Rosie," Sean said to me, and gave me a big hug. He kissed me on the forehead and whispered, "I wish Brian were here to see how much you've grown." He smiled at me. "Out here," he gave my hair a tug, "and in here." He pointed to my heart.

After he had gone to his room, I went to mine and got changed into a nightgown and let my hair out. I tried to go to sleep, but my head was spinning. I went down stairs and down to the basement, where I hadn't been all summer. The basement was basically one big room, at one side there was a T.V. and a couch, and at the other side there was a huge grand piano. The piano had belonged to my mother, and it was one of the only objects I took from our old house with me to Ace's house. I didn't want to many of her things, it would just remind me of her.

I walked over to the piano, carefully because I still hadn't turned on the light in the room, and ran my hand along the length of it. It was big and strong, like my father, but beautiful, like my mother. I lifted up the wooden cover and slid it into the piano, then ran my hands along the keys.

_Seven years_. Seven years since I've seen, spoken, or listened to my mother. Seven years since I've heard her play the piano, and felt my dad's arms around me as I sat in his lap while my brother sang along to my mother's music.

My family had died on the Fourth of July, and on my tenth birthday. I remember having a birthday party, and then telling them to go ahead to the Gallient party. I thought that I was being so mature that night, for letting them go to the party without me when it was my birthday, when if only I made them stay...

I sat down on the bench as my eyes filled with tears. I began playing the lullaby, and softly singing along to it, but I couldn't even get half way through the song when I broke down in tears. My shoulder's shook with sobs and I put my head in my hands. A few seconds later, I felt someone lift me up from the bench and carry me bridal style up the basement stairs. I was vaguely aware of Brysdon opening the basement door with his foot and walking up the stairs to my room while I hugged his shoulders and cried into his neck. He whispered comforting words in my ear as he walked into my bedroom, closing the door with his foot, and sitting on the bed. He pulled me into his lap and stroked my hair while continuing to calm me.

"Shh," he whispered, "It's okay, sweetheart." After a few minutes I sobered up and lifted my head from where I had buried it in his chest. He looked at me with tortured eyes, and he lifted his hands to my face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs.

I laughed a little as my tears dried up. "Sorry," I told him, but his eyes were still weary. "No really, no more crying, I promise." He lifted me up and laid me down on the bed, then went to my chair and put the afghan on top of me. He sat down on the bed, not quite sure what to do, so I grabbed his wrist and tugged him toward me. He scooted over to the center of the bed and lay down with me, wrapping his arms around my waist and I tucked my face into his chest again.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, in an odd voice. I looked up at his face, which had an expression of intense concern and something else.

"I'm fine," I told him. "Just a little breakdown. That's what happens when your family dies on your birthday." I gave out one harsh laugh that I'm sure didn't reach my eyes. "I just needed to cry a little bit. Thanks for carrying me upstairs." I softened my tone as I put my hand to his face and traced the line in between his eyebrows. "Are _you_ okay?"

His expression relaxed and the line disappeared. He gave out a big sigh and put his hand over mine where it was rested on his cheek. "There's nothing worse then seeing you cry, little wolf." We sat there for a little while, looking at each other's faces and memorizing them, before I fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

--_**End Flashback**_--

"You didn't leave?" I asked him as I looked at the time, it was almost seven thirty, and I was surprised I had woken up so early. I felt refreshed and awake, and I wondered about how much that had to do with waking up in _his_ arms.

"Did you want me to?" he asked and started to pull his arms away.

"No!" I almost shouted, and he reached up to put his hand against my mouth. We waited a few seconds to see if anyone had heard, and then I whispered against his hand, "No." He smiled as he wrapped his arms around me again.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Much better," I told him. I leaned forward and, knowing what I was going to do, he put his hands around my head into my hair. He pulled me close and brushed his lips against my mouth softly, and then he kissed me softly but passionately. _No one has ever kissed me this way before, _I thought to my self, _and I don't want anyone else to try either. _We pulled back and he grinned at me, which practically knocked all the breath out of me. I smiled sweetly back, then tipped my head as he leaned in again and...

"ROSE!!" Shannon screamed and banged her fists against the door. Brysdon sighed against my lips and I pulled back a little.

"Yes?" I asked her in an annoyed tone, irritated that she interrupted us.

"Sean said that you were suppose to take his shift this morning because you lost some kind of bet, that I don't care about, and then I went down stairs and Ace yelled at _me _for not waking _you_ up when it is **not** my responsibility to get your lazy ass out of bed! So get down stairs so dad won't freaking yell at _me_ for doing things I'm not even responsible for..." She rambled on and on and on.

"She's a charmer," Brysdon said and I stifled a giggle.

"...I mean I'm not even a werewolf, so I totally don't have anything to do with this stupid shift thing anyway and even if I did I wouldn't give a crap about waking you up because it's your fault you didn't wake up in the first place to get your but out there and protect us all cause god knows how well you can protect yourself. You even were the first one to get attacked by vampires in the first place! I wouldn't be surprised if..."

"Okay, okay!" I yelled back. "Shit," I mumbled. I totally forgot I had to take Sean's shift this morning. I heard Shannon's footsteps stomp away and I climbed out of Brysdon's arms. "I have shift this morning and I'm," I glanced at the clock, "already three minutes late." We got off the bed and I slipped the door open to peek outside.

"Coast is clear," I told him, and he walked over to kiss me goodbye.

"Meet with me," he told me as we pulled away.

"What?" I asked him.

"Meet with me. For brunch somewhere. Anywhere, I don't care. I just want to see you today." He thought better and then spoke again. "Without, I mean, all the watching vampires and werewolves." I laughed.

"I'm done at ten. Meet me in the garage at ten thirty? I have a perfect place we can go." He took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead.

"Ten thirty at the garage." He agreed, and then he opened my door and slipped down the hall so quickly I would have missed it if I blinked.

* * *

**Stupid Shannon!**

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	32. Mine

**

* * *

**

So, new idea here...get ready...THIS CHAPTER IS IN BRYSDON'S POINT OF VIEW! Yay! I thought it would be interesting and it gives you guys somewhat of an idea of what's going on inside of his head. Most of the chapters will be in Rose's POV, this was really just an experiment. This week end is labor day weekend so I should be able to get a nice long chappie up! Hope you like it! And thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter, I'm trying to get to 400! yay! And yes, they will tell people about their relationship soon. I'm working on it...

**Brysdon Hollows' Point of View**

I was in deep thought when I felt my cell vibrating in my pocket. I took it out, looked at the caller ID, and then put it to my ear.

"Amanda," I greeted my sister.

"Brother," she said, "The king wants to have a meeting at the nearest hotel where half of our coven is staying. He says be there in half an hour, and I can come pick you up if you want. Are you at Ace's?"

"Yes. When will you be here?"

"Give me fifteen." And with that she hung up the phone and I put the my cell back in my pocket. I decided I needed to go hunting first, especially if I was going out somewhere with Rose later. _Especially_ if it was a public place with the temptation of humans, not that Rose didn't smell delicious herself.

My heart skipped a beat when I thought about the date, which was an unusual sensation when already our hearts were slower than any other creature's. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Rose was captivating, confidant, smart...she was everything. At first my obsession with her was just a little thought in the back of my mind, but now it tugged at my heart every time I thought about her. This...feeling...had never happened to me before. I had been with other vampires, I had even been with Diane for a while, but I had never loved anyone. Loving someone was hard. It meant trusting someone else with your heart, and it's their choice to do with it as they choose. To break it...or to love you back. I didn't know if I loved her, the girl that made my slow heart go pitter patter, but I had a feeling I would find out soon enough.

I found myself running in the woods, dodging trees and jumping over logs until I caught the sent of a deer. It was half a mile away, to the northeast and up a cliff. My instincts took over and I sprinted in the direction. I found the little herd of dear drinking from a small stream and I deliberately made a big sound to scare them. The hunt was no fun when there wasn't a chase involved. When I was done and had drained two bucks, I whipped off my mouth in the stream and started back for the house. When I was half way there, I felt a slight breeze that passed and brought a sent to my nose. I sniffed the air wondering what it was. Definitely werewolf, I thought to myself, but something else. Something sweet, yet had a little...I stopped, knowing exactly who it was. Maybe if I just ran quickly over to where she was on guard, then I could see Rose for a few minutes...

My cell phone went off in my pocket again. "Fuck," I muttered, then quickly took out my phone and answered.

"_What?_" I demanded angrily.

"I said fifteen minutes, didn't I?" I hung up and started sprinting back to the house. Once I got there I ran to the driveway and opened up the door of my sister's car.

"I was hunting," I told her as she sped back down the drive way and then down the street. We rode in silence back to the hotel, and when we got there Amanda let the valet take her car and we started for the penthouse suite where James told her we would meet.

"Do you know why we're meeting?" She asked me once we were almost to the top. I shook my head and let her walk out while I followed behind her. The penthouse was the biggest suite in the hotel, and already many of the leaders in our coven were sitting on couches or standing around in the big living room. My father was sitting on a couch talking to Christopher, the king's assistant, and Greg was standing at the edge of the room. A few minutes later, the king and queen walked into the room and sat down.

"We wanted to have a meeting today with you all to discuss the upcoming battle," the king announced. He looked around the room until he found me and nodded in my direction as a greeting. "It is your choice as to fight with the werewolves or not, but I would like to know who is fighting, and who is not. I, as many of you already know, will be fighting, although my wife will not be." He looked back to Hannah and she smiled. Some might think she wasn't fighting because she didn't want to face my brother and the others, but I knew it was because the king did not want her in danger. "My son will also be fighting."

"We don't have to fight with them," interjected my father. He stood up so people could see him more clearly, and his log legs stretched until he seemed menacingly tall. There were not a lot of people that weren't intimidated by my father, and I am not one of them. He might not accept me as much as he did my brother, but I knew he still loved my sister and I. "They need to learn to fend for themselves. So what if the other vampire coven is growing bigger? They have enough warriors."

"Many of their fighters are too young and inexperienced to fight, father," I told him, "They need as much help as they can. I'm fighting with them." I said the last part to the king, so he would know my decision. I became too attached to the werewolves to let something happen to them now. "They're even bringing in werewolves from the western Colorado tribe to fight with them. The vampire coven is growing rapidly."

"I'm not fighting." My father stated. He looked at me angrily, and I didn't even acknowledge him. I'm my own man now, I thought, I make my own decisions. "And Amanda will not be fighting, either."

"What?!" Amanda asked.

"You," he said, glaring at here, "Will _not_ be fighting."

"No, Father, I can fight. I want to!" She cried. She looked at me desperately for support, but I looked away.

"I agree, Amanda," I told her, "Maybe you should sit this one out." I finally looked her in the eyes and her disappointment hit me full blast. I knew she would want to be involved, she got attached to the werewolves also, but it was too dangerous. She was not that good a fighter just yet.

"Well whatever you decide," the king said, coming to a conclusion, "Please let me know and I will inform Daniel of the numbers. The werewolves are having another training session in about twenty minutes and unless I have spoken to you otherwise, you will all be attending. Like Brysdon said, Daniel and Jona have called in some reinforcements from the western pack, and they will be attending the session also. You may leave." Everyone started to file out and I looked to Amanda. She stomped out of the room angrily and into the elevator. I hurried behind her, waiting until we were in the car to speak.

"You know I wouldn't want you to fight unless it was safe," I told her as we sped out of the parking lot. I had taken the keys from her and was now driving out onto the highway. She didn't answer but just stared straight ahead. "Amanda," I demanded, "Look at me." She slowly looked up with hurtful eyes. "I don't want you getting hurt. We don't know how many vampires there will be. Please, just sit this one out." She looked back out the window and didn't say anything. After a while, I wasn't expecting her to say anything else, but then she spoke quietly.

"When are you going to tell them?" She asked. Knowing what she was talking about, I raked my brain for an answer.

"I'm working on that," I told her.

"Does Greg know?"

"No. And I'm not proud of that. I'll tell them before the battle, I'm just trying to figure out how to break it. I don't think 'Hey, guys, I think my soul mate is a werewolf' won't do the trick." I said sarcastically.

"You think she's your soul mate?" She asked, finally looking at me. I turned into Jona's driveway and shut off the car.

"I don't know." I sighed and ran a hand through my black hair. It was getting long; I would probably have to cut it soon. I looked at my cell phone and saw it was nine o'clock. Rose was still on shift and wouldn't be at the training session. Great.

We got out and started into the woods, not stopping until we got to the huge field. Already most everyone was there, so we started over to where Jona was splitting us up into groups. I recognized some new faces, and I realized they must have been the werewolves from the western pack. Unfortunately, I was put in their group, while Frank, Emily, Sean, Diane, and Amanda were all in the ring. Naturally, I was the only one not picked to go with them.

"Today," Sid, one of the older werewolf men from the Kuzon tribe, said, "We will be testing your limits. Sometimes in battle, your fight starts going ass up, so your going to need to retreat. We're going to race today." Some of the werewolves snickered as we walked over to the woods. Sid thought it would be better if we raced there so that we would have to dodge trees and rocks. "I'll be standing on a cliff about three miles away. In about five minutes, three of you line up and someone say go, then you will run as fast as you can to me. First person there will stay with me, the other two will do it again, got it?" We nodded and he started off into the woods while we waited. There were about ten of us in the group, five of which were some of the new werewolves.

Five minutes later, two werewolves and one vampire were lined up at the face of the woods. Some one said go, and they raced off into the woods. I was leaning on a tree a couple of yards from the others, not wanting to converse at the moment. I could see some of the newbies giving me nervous glances and I couldn't help but smirk a little. Until I heard what they were conversing about.

"So, guys, I heard the woman in this tribe are pretty cute." One of them said.

"Oh, yea. You see that one chick on shift when Daniel was showing us around the woods?" Another one asked. I briefly remember him saying his name was Jeff. I immediately went on guard, hoping they weren't talking about whom I thought they were talking about.

"Hell, yea! She was sexy," said a boy about Rose's age who was sitting on the ground in front of them. "What was here name...Ror-,...Ros-,...Rosie? She was hot as shit, man! I wouldn't mind tapping that."

"It's Rose," I said icily, coming to stand closer to them and near the starting line. I saw five heads snap to me quickly, and I hoped they didn't get whiplash from their reaction.

"I'm sorry?" The first one asked.

"I said her name is Rose. And she is off limits." I glared at them as the boy sitting on the ground finally stood. I noticed I was a bit taller than them, and they gave me wary looks and I said this.

"And why's that?" the one I thought was Jeff asked, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look tougher.

"Because," I growled menacingly, flashing my fangs and taking a step forward, "She's _mine._" All five stepped back carefully at my protective snarl, and I walked over to line.

Two of them slowly changed into their wolf forms and walked over to line to get ready to start, while one of the others said 'Go!'. Of course, I won.

* * *

**Tehehehe! Review please! **


	33. Date

**Yes, I know, I suck. Took me sooo long to update! Jeez! And I'm sorry this is not that long, but I have had no time to do anything execpt eat, sleep, school, and soccer. But today we won, so I was put in a good mood and I promised I my friends I would update! I'm reallly going to try and update more often! Really! **

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, you guys make me so proud!**

"Here it is," I said, as we walked to the front of the diner. I spread my arms open, Vanna White style, and grinned at him.

"Lester's diner?" He asked.

"Yep! One of my favorite places in the world, besides the waterfall I showed you." I took Brysdon's hand and led him inside of the restaurant. We had met at the garage at exactly ten thirty, neither one of us wanting to be late, and we took my car into town. Naturally, Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Potter were sitting down at the counter having their late breakfast. Ryan, the granddaughter of the owner and my close friend, was serving them drinks.

"Rose!" Ryan said when she finally spotted me. I walked to the counter and gave her a hug, then turned and greeted my old friends.

"And who is this handsome young fellow?" Mrs. Potter said as she looked at Brysdon. He took a step forward and extended his hand for her to shake, and she grasped his hand firmly.

"Brysdon Hollows," he said.

"Sarah Potter," she said back with a huge smile.

"Well, I'll be damn, Rose, you finally found yourself a _nice_, _handsome_, _polite_, man for yourself," she told me. Mr. Robinson extended his hand next and Brysdon shook it.

"Peter Robinson," he said. "That's a nice handshake you got there, son."

"Thank you, sir," Brysdon replied.

"And this is my friend Ryan," I said, pointing to her as she went behind the counter. "Ryan's grandfather is the owner of the diner."

"Hi." She greeted shyly.

"Hello," he said back. I had never noticed, but he never said 'Hi' or 'Hey' to anyone except me, and that was rare. I smirked a little at his politeness and took him to my favorite booth a little ways away from the counter. The booth was very small and cozy, made for only two people. He sat down across from me and I felt his legs brush up against mine underneath the table. The wall next to us was painted a light blue and had pictures of people in the diner along the wall. I heard Peter and Sarah leave the diner loudly, and noticed that we were the only ones there.

"Cozy," he commented.

"I love it," I smiled. I couldn't help but be giddy. This was our first, _real_ date. "I come here all the time to eat. Try the blueberry pie, it's the best." He took out the menu and looked things over, while I watched him pick. I already knew the menu by heart, and I had decided I was still in the mood for breakfast food and would get Belgium waffles. Again.

Ricky came by to take our orders, and I got a water with the waffles and strawberries. Brysdon just said the same for him. He folded the menu and gave it to Ricky, then looked at me and took my hand. He sighed, and I had a feeling what he was about to say was almost forced.

"Rose," he said sternly, "Sooner or later, we're going to have to tell people about us." I sighed too, not really wanting the subject to ruin our date.

"I know. Let's think about who knows so far, Emily, Sean, Amanda..."

"The two werewolves..." he added. I snapped my head up to look at him sharply.

"What two werewolves?" I asked through clenched teeth. He looked a little sheepish, and then laced his fingers through mine.

"They were talking about you," he said guilty, "What was I suppose to do? Stand there and listen?"

"Yes," I said, but I wasn't really mad. He was just too sweet; I couldn't help but not be mad. He could tell I wasn't angry, so he just leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Well, I guess we do have to tell them. I want Jona and Daniel to know before the fight."

"And Ace." He added.

"And Ace." I said, but I had a feeling telling Ace would be worst of all. He got up and walked around the table to sit on my side so he could hold me. It was a two-person booth, so it was a little small, but he made it work.

"We'll do it together," he said. "But I just want you to make sure you're making the right choice. I _know_ I am," he said, caressing my cheek, "But you need to think about the consequences of what they might do. It won't be just a slap on the wrist; they're very serious about these things. You could even be exiled from the pack. I'm sure they won't do that to you; it would be disloyal to your parents since they aren't here to make the decision for their daughter, but you understand the extremes of the situation, right? I want you to know what might happen before we tell them that we..."

"...want to be together," I said, finishing for him. "And yes, I do understand, Brysdon. This is the right choice, I know it is. You're the right choice." We just sat in silence for a second while we both took in the situation. Then slowly, slowly, he reached his hand to my neck and grasped the locket.

"I love you," he whispered so softly, no one human could here. For a moment I couldn't answer, the feeling that was inside my heart and was spreading to each individual limb was numbing and almost painful at the same time.

"I love you, too," I whispered back. He tugged on the locket and he gave me the most gentle, loving kiss anyone had ever gotten.

* * *

After breakfast, I took Brysdon around town, showing him my favorite stores and favorites spots to read a book. It was a nice summer day, it was sunny but there was a breeze that made it cool. I kept seeing my friends from school, but then they would see scary Brysdon with me, and keep a twenty-foot space in between them and us. I took him into my favorite bookstore, and introduced him to my friend at the counter.

"Hey, Sarah!" I called to her, but she waved me off because she was talking to a cute boy. I laughed at her and took Brysdon to the back of the store, where there was a cozy reading area and a fireplace. The fireplace was fake, of course, but it added to the hominess of the area.

"Do you like to read?" I asked him as we sat down on a couch.

"Some things," he said. "I like to read the newspaper a lot, to see what's going on in the world."

"I can't read the newspaper," I told him, "The stories just make me angry and I get in a bad mood." He laughed and picked up the book that had fallen out of my bag.

"What's this?" he asked, then turning and reading the spine, "_Eclipse_?"

"Yes," I said as I snatched it away from him and put it back. "I carry a book around with me everywhere."

"Very 'Rory Gilmore' of you." He said and I laughed.

"You watch _Gilmore_ _Girls_? Isn't that kind of a girl show, Mr. Hollows?" I poked him in the shoulder and he grabbed my hand.

"It's Amanda's favorite show," he told me with no shame, "And I think it's funny. But you're avoiding the question, what's _Eclipse_?" I sighed and picked the book back up.

"It's about a girl named Bella...who falls in love with a vampire." His face became more sober, like he was snapping out of a small, happy trance he was in. "And they have some troubles, like her best friend is a werewolf who's in love with her. In the end though, Edward, who is the vampire, and Bella end up together."

"Ah," he said, "Interesting."

"They're really good," I told him earnestly, "You should try reading _Twilight_. It's a chick flick, but I think you might like it." His face softened at my gesture, seeing that I truly thought it was a good idea, which I did.

"Okay," he told me, touching my cheek with the back of him knuckles, "Maybe I will."

"Really?" I said. I ran over to the shelf I knew they always had extra copies and grabbed one. I was going to turn around to run back to him, but I found he had followed me there. I handed him the book and he put it in my bag, which he had brought over, and then put it on a shelf. "Well," I told him, "I guess you just can't be away from me than more than a second." I smiled at him and stepped closer. He put his hands around my waist and held me gently.

"I'm not denying it," he said, then leaned in and kissed me. "With the battle coming up and all the extra training and patrolling your pack will have us doing, I won't be able to see you at all. I plan on making every moment count." He kissed me again, this time harder, and I wrapped my hands around his neck. My heart was going to explode any minute, and I'm sure he could feel it against his chest. We stood there for a little while, just kissing and hugging in the little bookstore aisle, and I couldn't help but think at that moment, everything just seemed perfect. For now.


	34. writers block

I'm such a horrible person. You can kill me now. I haven't updated in forrreeevvverrrr! I'm so sorry! School just sucks so bad! And with soccer and everything, ugh! I am determined to get a new chapter up soon I promise! Just hang in there, I'm having a little writers block. Tomorrow is my 15th birthday so this weekend I'm going to DC but I'm really trying to get something up soon. I love all you readers who haven't abandoned this story yet. I'm sorry! -Molly Rose


	35. I don't think we do

**Long time, no see, huh? Well, here it is. I really thought that I was just having a bad case of writers block, but once I sat down at my computer today the words just seemed to start flowing...It feels really good to write again. Okay so I hope you guys like this one, there's some confrontation. I'm not so good at the arguing scenes, but I try to put in the right words. I have some answers though from questions you guys have asked...**

How long will you contiunue this story**? Hahaha hell if I knew. I think about six more chapters, I really don't know though, I don't plan on what I'm writing. I just kinda sit down and write what comes to mind...**

Don't you think Brysdon and Rose are going a little fast? **You have to keep in mind that these aren't regular humans. They have soul mates and bonds that are stronger than most, and I like to think Brysdon and Rose have that type of stong connection. And they have known each other for longer than a couple days, if you've noticed I've added a week here of a few days there in the other chapters.**

**Thanks again, I love all my readers!**

It was twelve thirty by the time we got back, and I was **not**looking forward to going back home. I wanted to stay in town with Brysdon, and I definitely didn't want to come back and tell my uncle. But I couldn't wait any longer. I wasn't exactly like one of those girls who felt _so _guilty lying to their loved ones. My motto was, if it's for their own good, then lying might be best. It's not like I lied a lot for that matter, it's just that I could definitely keep a secret. But now it was time to tell my loved ones, for lying about my relationship with Brysdon just felt...wrong. I wanted to be able to hold his hand or be near him without having to look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Plus, I wanted to do this for me. I was sick of being told what to do and where to be and how I should act in the tribe.

I thought about all of the different situations that I would have to deal with. Some might say that we're going to fast. But were we? I didn't feel like we were. We had known each other for only five or six weeks now, but from the first time we spoke, I felt like we had a connection. My instincts told me we belonged together, I just couldn't explain it. The wolf part of me yearned for him...I felt something so happy when I was with him. Ace would probably say it was dishonorable of me, and what would my parents think? What _would_ my parents think? I couldn't know, no one could.

"Hey," Brysdon said, distracting me from my thoughts. "It will be okay. I know what you're thinking, I'm not looking forward to telling them either. If you don't want to, if you're not certain about any of this then _please_ just tell me..."

"No." I told him, cutting off his little speech. "I'm certain, Brys. I know what I want to do and I'm not going to back out at the last second." He nodded but still looked uneasy, as if he was pressuring me to do this. I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips, trying to reassure him. We had stopped a block away from Emily's street, where he said he was going to get out and go find the prince. I was going to go back to my house and go tell Ace right away. Do it quickly, just like ripping off a band-aid.

Brysdon started to get out of the car, his big hands covering the whole handle on the car door. My car was a little too small for his large frame, and he had to bend his head way down to get out. When he first got in, I couldn't stop laughing at how silly he looked. He was halfway through getting out when he stopped, seeming to think a little, and got back in the car. He turned around in his seat to look at my questioning expression.

"I do love you. I just want to let you know." His expression was very serious, but his eyes held the softness and compassion that made my heart ache.

"I know." I told him, as he took my face in his hands and kissed me hard. He pulled back with a sigh, opened the car door again, and this time got out and shut it behind him. I pulled away from the curve and just before I was about to go, I looked in my rear view mirror, but Brysdon had already sprinted into the woods.

On my way home it began to rain, further more darkening my mood. I pulled into my driveway, hoped out of the car and slammed the door behind me before running to the house. The rain hitting the rooftop made a relaxing sound, but that afternoon it just made me more anxious. My palms were sweaty as I walked to the kitchen and through the first floor looking for my uncle. I found Janice, Sean, and Ace in the kitchen eating some lunch.

"Hey, sis," Sean greeted me in his friendly way. "Thunderstorm or what?" He grinned at me as a loud '_boom'_ echoed from the sky. Sean and I had always loved the rain, especially thunderstorms, just as my brother use to.

"Hey, guys, " I said back.

"Is something wrong, Rose?" Janice asked me as I peeled off my jacket and placed it on the counter.

"No," I told them, and then I gave Sean a pointed look. "I just need to talk to Ace for a second." Sean obviously go the memo, for his head snapped up and he immediately started cleaning up his things.

"Hey, Jan," he said, "Come with me real quick, I have something I want to show you in the basement." He took both of their food and threw it away quickly.

"Hey!" She said weakly, "I was still eating that."

"Just _come on_," Sean urged, pulling her across the kitchen.

"But I don't want to see..." I heard Janice's voice as their footsteps faded off down the hall until I heard the basement door open then close.

"What do you need, Rose?" Ace asked me, still eating his lunch. He finished up, took his plate to the sink and put it in. He came and stood next to me by the counter as I prepared for my next words.

"I wanted to talk to you." Another large '_boom'_of thunder rolled across the sky and the rain began to pound harder. "It's about Brysdon." My uncle's eyes immediately became narrowed.

"The vampire?" I nodded. "What about him?"

"I know you banned me from seeing him," I began, and I could see he was going to speak again but I cut him off, "But I didn't listen to you. I have talked to him many times since then."

"I know," he said, his expression very cross now. I raised my eyebrows and he continued. "I'm more perceptive than you give me credit for Rose, and I know you have talked to him out of your rebellious nature. It's what you do." I tried not to let that offend me. "But I hope you know I don't approve, and it's about time that you stop. I've let this continue for too long, and soon enough you will take this too far and-"

"It's already gone too far, Ace." My voice began to rise a little, just to match his. "Brysdon and I have-"

"That's enough." He said roughly, raising his hand. "I don't want to hear anymore of this sh-"

"Just listen!" I said. "I can't help it that Brysdon and I have a connection. Uncle, I have never felt what I've felt for Brysdon with any other guy."

"A connection!" He almost yelled. "Oh, god, Rose. What have you done?"

"I care about him, Ace," I told him softly, "I care about him so, so much and I know he cares about me too." I knew if I even mentioned the _L _word that he would go into cardiac arrest. I would give him time to cool down before I mentioned love.

"No you don't!" He said to me. He took my shoulders in his hands and gave me a rough shake. "You don't know what you're saying!"

"Stop!" I told him, shaking off his hands. "You don't think I know what I'm doing? I know the consequences of this Uncle, I wouldn't be telling you about this if I wasn't serious. I'm sick and tired of trying to please you. He makes me _happy_." I was almost in tears now, but Ace was just getting angrier and angrier.

"Many, many, many other _werewolf_ men can make you just as happy, Rose. I promise!"

"It's too late, Ace!" I said back. "It's hurts to be away from Brysdon. You have to understand-"

"Stop!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. I was so surprised that I lost my balance and took a step back. "**You will not see him! Do you understand me? You will not see this vampire!**" The conversation got ugly, very fast.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I said, tears leaking from my face.

"I don't hate him, Rose," he said, not exactly yelling now but very sternly. "I hate you two together. It's just not right. What would your parents think of you? Your brother?" Ah, I knew he would play the parents card. I wasn't as ready with the brother comment, and that made me wince. My brother was always very protective of me. Would he have been as easy going as Sean was, or would he of had a reaction like my uncle was having? I took a few minutes to calm down, and in that time neither of us said anything.

"I think," I said slowly, "That my parents would be angry at first. But after that, they would see how much this meant to me. What this _means_ to me, and that they would accept it." I watched his face as what I said replayed in his mind.

"Well I'm sorry, Rose," and my heart sank, "But I don't think that's what they would do. You're an adult now, and I guess I have to respect that." He took a step closer to emphasize his words. "But that means you have to take the consequences _like an adult_. You. Will. Not. See. This. Vampire. Do we understand each other?" His blue eyes didn't look so loving anymore, and they seemed to have a sinister gleam.

"No," I said, equally, "I don't think we do." I hoped Brysdon's conversation was going better...

**Uh oh. Review please! I love days off from school...**


	36. Perfect love

**Long time, no see! Thanks to all of you who review! You guys really make my day. I can't wait until I get 500 reviews, I think I'll pee my pants! Soccer season is over for school, so I'll have a lot more time to write now. My story is actually going to end soon, but don't worry, there's still a lot more I have to write. **

**This chapter is in Brysdon's point of view because I wanted you to see what happens with his confrontation. Thanks to everyone! Love, Molly Rose **

**p.s. Happy Belated Halloween! p.s.s. Thanks to perfect love kills all fear!**

**Brysdon**

"Have you seen the prince?" I asked one of the vampires walking by. I went back to the hotel first, but someone told me that the royal family had gone back to Jona's house for the evening.

"N-no," the vampire stuttered. "I m-mean he just passed through. I saw him go out the back door." He gave me a small bow and pointed in the direction of the back door. The young vampires always amused me the most, it seemed they never knew what to do with me. They knew they had to show respect for the royal family, but they always stumbled around me. I couldn't tell if they didn't know whether or not to show me the same respect as the royal family, or if they were just plain scared.

"Thank you," I said, and gave him a small bow to throw him off a little. I chuckled while his face flushed and he hurried off down the hall. I walked to the back yard, and found Greg sitting with my sister at a table next to the pool.

_Oh boy,_ I thought to myself as they both looked up and saw me standing on the deck. I walked down the stairs and over to where they were sitting.

"Amanda," I said, "Could I talk to Greg alone, please?"

"Sure," she said, then winked at me before rushing off inside. I watched her shut the back door behind her and sensed Greg stand up next to me. I sighed and gathered what I was going to say in my head.

"Look Greg-" I started to say, but then BAM! He punched me square in the face. It caught me off guard, so I stumbled back a few steps before making sure my nose wasn't broken. I could feel my temper flare up, but I reminded myself that this was Greg, my friend, and I didn't want to hurt him. Even though he had just punched me in the face.

"What the fuck?" I yelled at him, but one look at his face told me he wasn't playing around. He looked so angry, and I could only guess what caused this emotion. "Look," I said, more calmly then before, "I know Amanda probably told you-"

"It wasn't what _Amanda_said, Brysdon," he interrupted me, "It's what I heard from a couple of werewolves this morning. They came to me, asking me what I was going to do to you as punishment. Of course, I had no idea what they were talking about, so I asked them to explain." By this point he sounded beyond pissed off, which was unusual for Greg. He always held this cool and steady demeanor, and rarely used violence unless necessary. I guess he thought this was necessary.

"They said that you told them that Rose '_was yours'_. Now when I heard this, I **knew** there must have been a mistake, because I would know if there was something going on. Which I didn't even think there _was _something going on, because you know the consequences, Brysdon. You _know_them. But just to make sure, I went and asked your sister if there was anything I needed to know about between you and Miss Little Wolf Girl, Rose Fairday. " He said her name with a little sneer, and my protective instincts flared. _This is Gregory_, I told myself, _he's just angry with you. Don't get mad._

"I expected a response like 'Of course not, Greg' or 'How could you even think that, Greg?'. But do you know what she said to me Brysdon? Do you? She said, '_Perfect love kills all fear'._" We were standing only a few feet apart now, and his breathing hadn't slowed down.

I thought about what my sister had said, and realized it was true. I did love Rose. I couldn't deny it anymore. There was part of my heart that just fell for her so quickly, fell for her playfulness and heart. But another part of me, the vampire part, had an instant connection with her. I actually did feel as if she was mine now, and no one else could have her. I wasn't afraid for loving her, and I wasn't afraid of what if would mean for me. But I _was_ afraid for her. The werewolf tribe was going to take this a lot harder than my coven, I was positive. I prayed Rose was okay right now, and focused on my friend in front of me.

"Greg," I said. I made sure my voice held no emotion as to trigger him off, but there was a hint of sternness in it. "I didn't mean to tell those werewolves that she was mine. I had lost my temper when I heard them talking about her." His face seemed to relax a fraction of an inch, but we both sensed the '_but_' coming in my next words. "But," I sighed, "It's true. I do love her."

"SHIT!" Greg yelled. "Brysdon, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? She could get killed for this! _You_ could get killed for this!" His fangs were starting to come out a little, but he stopped and closed his eyes, taking big deep breaths. It wasn't that he needed them, but he was trying to calm down.

"Brysdon," he said. He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going to be king one day. I'm going to be the one who tries to prevent this from happening. You're making this so hard for me, man." His voice didn't sound as if he was angry anymore, but more like he was hurt. Guilt washed through me, and I ran my hand through my hair before looking at him.

"Look, Greg," I told him, "It's not as if I wanted this to happen. You and I both know that the last thing I came here was to look for love, especially not in a werewolf. But, I just-" I couldn't think of what to say. My temper was flaring again, and I knew my eyes were growing black. I let out a yell, and flipped over the chair that my sister had been sitting on a few minutes ago. I meant to just flip it over, but I sent it sailing across the yard and into the woods. "Rose can make me happy, sad, protective, angry, crazy, and happy again in all less than ten seconds! It's not like I decided one day that I was going to fall in love with her. It just happened! And I'm so glad it did! Cause I love her, Greg!" I hadn't meant to raise my voice, but by the end I was yelling. We both looked around to check if anyone had heard, but no one was outside, and I'm pretty sure my sister distracted everyone from going outside or near the windows.

To my surprise, Greg gave out a small nervous laugh. "Oh, man," he said, "Why couldn't you have just fallen in love with, Diane?" I let out a small laugh, too, and then we lapsed into silence. Greg sighed, then walked over and sat down in the chair that I hadn't thrown across the yard.

"So," I said to him, "What's your verdict?" I walked over and stood next to him, and then I pulled up and chair and sat down at the table also.

"My verdict doesn't really count right now," he told me, "But this is my opinion. Right now, you're a dumb shit."

"Hey-" I started, but he cut me off.

"_But_," he said, "I've never been in love, and it sure seems like you love her. Who am I to tell you wrong, right? I'm your best friend." His voice dropped a little, and his expression darkened. "But I'm warning you right now, Brys. No one is going to take this easily. You're going to have to tell my parents, and I have no idea how they will react. They might be furious and hell, they might be glad. The werewolves, however, will not be glad. Not at all."

"I know," I said, "Rose is telling her uncle right now, and my insides are turning on whether or not she's all right." It was true, I felt like I was going to throw up. Not that I could, cause I'm a vampire, you know.

"Then go be with her." I got up to leave, but he got up as well and put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Let me tell you something, Brysdon. This isn't as Gregory, the prince; this is as Greg, your friend. I'm scared for you, man. Be careful." His words stopped me, so I pulled him in for a hug. I couldn't remember the last time we had hugged, but it felt good to know he wasn't so mad at me anymore.

We let go and I ran up the stairs, pulling out my cell phone as I walked back into the house. The message read:

**Meet me at the waterfall.**

I sent the message and then headed off into the woods to go meet the girl who made me crazy.

**read and review!**


	37. Oh, man

**I hope you like reading this chapter, cause I really liked writing it. Not much to say, hope you enjoy! Thanks to you who reviewed the last chapter, I don't think a lot of people liked it lol. Hope you guys like this one better! Love, Molly Rose**

_Whoa,_ I thought, _that was close._ I had just dodged a tree that I was extremely close to hitting. I needed to pay attention, but it was hard with my mind racing. I had just gotten Brysdon's message to meet him at the waterfall, and I had raced off into the woods. _Only a couple of minutes_, I thought, _then I'll be with Brysdon._

Telling Ace had _not_ gone well, and I was anxious to see how Brysdon's confrontation went. My hind legs pumped forward as I ran through the woods in my wolf form. What if he was hurt? No, that couldn't be it. I doubt he would call me out to the waterfall if he were hurt. I just kept running, trying to focus on not slamming into a tree and keeping my mind off of the situation until I got there.

After a couple of minutes, I heard the roaring of the waterfall and finally sprinted into the clearing. I slowed down until I was just standing by the water and noticed that Brysdon was already there, waiting for me near the rocks. He was leaning back against the cliff, and when he saw me he pushed himself off the wall and started walking toward me. I transformed from my wolf form back into a human and started running toward him.

I flung myself into his arms and hugged him around the waist. His hands went around my back and hugged me close.

"Gosh," I sobbed. I hadn't realized I was crying until his strong hands started stoking my hair. He hugged me tighter, trying to stop my trembling.

"It's okay, Rosie," he whispered, "It's going to be okay, I promise." I just cried a little more until I had myself together. I pulled back a little and Brysdon released me, but he still gripped my upper arms with his strong hands. I was breathing hard and looking at the ground. _Gosh_, I told myself, _I'm such a crybaby._ "Hey," Brysdon said again, in his deep voice that was so gentle. "Look at me," he said. I took my eyes off the ground but still wouldn't look at his face. "Look at me," he said, and this time took my chin in his hand and turned my face up. I looked into his eyes that were so dark you couldn't tell which part was his pupil. He took his thumbs and wiped away the tears off my cheeks. "What happened?"

"He freaked, Brysdon," I said and noticed my voice was hoarse from crying. "He's probably thinking of ways to kill me right now. He's probably telling Jona and Patrick. He brought up the parent card. Told me that my parents would be so disappointed." A little sob escaped my lips again and Brysdon leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I knew it was coming, I knew he was going to be angry. I just thought it wouldn't hurt so much."

His eyes looked pained as I said this, and he pulled his hands away from my face. "I don't want to hurt you, Rose."

Shock went through me as I realized what he said. "No, no! That's not what I meant!"

"This hurts you," he said, and I could feel the emotionless Brysdon starting to kick in. His face didn't look hurt any more; it just looked like he had no feelings. But I knew better.

"Brysdon, stop. That's not what I meant." I took his hands in mine, and when he tried to pull them away, I just squeezed tighter. "You're not hurting me. Ace is. I knew he would be mad, but I thought he would at least try and compromise. I thought he would want me to be happy. It hurts me to think that he just jumped to the conclusion that I was wrong. I'm still a kid to him, and it hurts to think that he still doesn't see me as an adult."

"It's not you, Brysdon. I know you'll never hurt me." He was silent for a few moments, but the he sighed and took me into his arms once again.

"Did you tell the royal family?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"I didn't tell the King and Queen, but I did tell Greg." He let me go of our hug but he took my hand and walked over to the bank. There was a small drop from the ground to the water, so you could sit down on the bank and your toes would barely scrape the water. Of course, that was for me. With Brysdon's humongous height, he had to sit back some more. He sat down on the bank and pulled me down onto his lap.

"How was it?"

"He...took it well, surprisingly." He said, and a small smile spread on his face. "Well, at least not at first. First, he punched me. Then he was okay with it."

"He punched you?!" I asked incredibly.

"Yes, I know, I was surprised too. Apparently, the two werewolves snitched on me, and told him how I said you were mine." He put his face in the crook of my neck and gave me a puppy dog kiss while I giggled and tried to pull his face away. "Then he went to my sister and asked her to make sure we weren't together."

"What did she say?" I asked, truly curious as to what Amanda would tell him. If the prince of vampires came to me and asked me that, I don't know whether I'd lie or tell the truth.

"He said she told him that 'true love kills all fear'."

"Perfect answer." I said, and he leaned his forehead against mine.

"Mhm. So after Greg got over the initial surprise, he calmed down a little. He said to be careful, but I don't think he's mad anymore."

"Good," I said, "I like Greg." Brysdon pulled back at me and narrowed his eyes playfully.

"Not that way, stupid," I said while laughing.

"Good," he grunted. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder. The waterfall was pretty and this time of day. The sun was almost down, and the colors in the sky were beautiful. "I think Amanda is still angry with me, though."

"How come?" I asked, still looking at the waterfall.

"Today, before we went on our date, there was a meeting at the hotel with the vampires. About the fight." This got my attention, so I lifted my head up and looked at him. His face was stern, but I could sense a hint of weariness in his eyes. "The king told everyone it was our choice to fight, and he wasn't forcing anyone to do anything they didn't want to. Of course, I'm going to fight. Anyone who messes with you, messes with me now." I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But my father will not be, and he told everyone Amanda wasn't fighting, either. I agreed with him, which Amanda wasn't too happy about. She's not ready, and I don't want her to get hurt."

_Uh-oh, _I thought, _I know where this is going._

"Which I also wanted to talk to you about, Rose." _Oh, crap._ "I don't think you should fight either. It's not a good idea, you could get hurt."

I sighed. I should have seen that coming. "Brysdon," I said, "I have to fight. I have to."

"But look what happened last time, Rose." I got off of his lap and stood up, and he was up right after me. "Look at what happened with Logan and Sheldon. You could have gotten killed."

"I was caught off guard, Brysdon! I couldn't even change into my wolf form!"

"What if I hadn't of come, Rose? What if-" He stopped what he was going to say and took a deep breath. I knew he was going to say, 'What if they killed you?'

"Brys," I said in a soft voice and took a step toward him. "This time I'll be ready. I'll be in my wolf form and I'll be able to fight. I can't stay away. I _have_ to do this for me and for my family. Please, understand." He still didn't look convinced, so I took his hand and tried to make a light joke. "And hey, maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe Ace and Jona will kill me before the fight even happens." His face darkened and I could tell he didn't find humor in what I had said.

"I'm not happy about this," he said sternly.

"I know," I said, and reached up on my tippy toes to give him a light kiss on the lips.

"I want you to follow two rules," he told me after a couple of moments.

"Here we go," I muttered.

"First, you have to stay in my range of sight at all times. I want to be able to see if you're okay."

"Okay," I said. I could deal with that.

"And second," he told me, "If anything gets out of hand, you have to run."

"Ugh, Brysdon-"

"Rose, I'm serious. No one can out run you. If something gets too dangerous, I want you to run away. Do you understand me?"

This is stupid, I thought. I would look like a wimp if I ran away! But if it's what Brysdon want to hear...

"Okay," I said with my fingers crossed behind my back.

"Promise me." _Shit._

"Okay. I prom-" I started to say, but then I stopped when I heard and twig snap from behind me. I swung around, and was about ready to transform. How could I have been so stupid? I needed to pay attention; I couldn't believe I didn't hear who ever it was coming. Brysdon stopped my flowing thoughts by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"What do you want, Diane?" The elegant vampire stepped out from the woods. Her beautiful long, black hair had a leaf stuck in it, and she ran her fingers through it to get it out.

"The King and Queen are looking for you, Brysdon," she said, and I noticed her tone had a sort of respect in it. I wondered if she was still in love with him, and jealousy washed through me. I knew I shouldn't be jealous. I knew that Brysdon loved me...but still.

Brysdon sighed and looked at me. "Go," I told him. "Just call me and come back soon." He kissed me on top of my head and started to walk away.

"Thank you, Diane," he said, and then sprinted off through the forest.

"You're welcome," she called, but I doubt he could here her for he was long gone. She turned her black gaze from the forest and on to me. "They're going to talk to him about you, you know. About how much trouble you're going to get them into."

"How do you know?" I said. We were facing each other, but we were standing a few feet away. The truth was, I didn't want her coming closer. She kinda scared me.

"I was with Greg when those werewolves told him about what Brysdon said. About how you 'were his'. What else would the king and queen want to talk to him about?" She spit out the words, and I had a feeling that this conversation wasn't getting better.

"I don't know," I sighed, "I don't know."

"Well, you know what I think?" She asked me and took a step closer.

But I never knew what she was about to say, because in that instant we heard someone clear their throat. I looked at Diane, and saw that she was staring at something behind me and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. I slowly turned around, hoping the overwhelming scent of vampire was just Diane and Brysdon's lingering presence.

"I'm sorry, Ladies," a sultry voice said, "I hope I'm not interrupting." Tyson and Logan were standing at the forest edge with about twenty other growling vampires all around us.

"Oh, _shit_," I heard Diane whisper before something smashed my head from behind and I passed out.

***Sighs* I love cliffies.**


	38. I agree

**Here is the next chapter. Not much to say, except THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! Seriously, you guys make my day. The story is getting really long, so I'm starting to close to and end. I hope it will only take a few more chapters. Please read and review to tell me what you guys think! -Molly Rose**

"Ughhhh," I groaned. _Why does my head feel like my brain exploded?_ I thought. What happened? I tried to open my eyes, but the pain in my head was unbearable and my eyelids just fluttered slightly. I tried to move my fingers, but my hand brushed up against something else. Another cold, hand.

And just like that, everything came rushing back. Brysdon and I meeting by the waterfall, and then him leaving. Then Diane came and we were talking. Then...

_Oh no._ Vampires. Lots of vampires that fucking knocked me out. My head still throbbed, and I tried to open my eyes again. Where was I? Where's Diane? I started to move again, but then the hand I felt before clutched mine.

"Do. Not. Move." Diane whispered in my ear, "Pretend you're still asleep." I had no idea what was going on, so I just stopped moving and didn't open my eyes. I heard her rough breathing, which I thought must have had to do with the fact that she was scared, because she really didn't need to breath that hard as a vampire. I was in a sitting position, and my back was pressed up against a cold, hard wall. I guessed I was sitting on the ground and I knew my feet were splayed in front of me. They felt cramped from not moving, but I didn't want to risk the chance of moving now.

I heard footsteps coming from above us. _We must be in a house_, I thought. The footsteps were loud and heavy and they were coming down a set of stairs. I made sure my body was still, and that my breathing was slow and deep to make it look like I was still knocked out. I heard a door open, and sets of footsteps came in and shut the door behind them. I knew there was more than one, but I couldn't tell how many people came in.

"They're still knocked out," a familiar, thick-accented voice said. _Logan. _

"Hmmm," I heard someone else say, "How hard did you hit them, Logan?" The voice that spoke was deep and definitely male.

"_I_ didn't hit them, Tyson," Logan said, "Katrina and a few others came from behind and bashed them. It was hard though, I thought she might of had killed them, even if it is a vampire and a werewolf."

"They've already been knocked out for a couple of hours, they'll probably wake up any time now," the voice, Tyson, said.

"What are we going to do with them when they wake up?" A third voice said.

"I think we should just kill them," Logan complained.

"We're not killing them," Tyson said, "Yet."

"How long do you think it's going to take for the others to realized they're gone?"

"They're probably in a panic by now looking for them," Tyson replied calmly, "But they won't find us. Unless Logan did something as stupid as leave a bread crumb trail, it will take a long time for them to get to us."

"And by then we'll have everything planned out," the third voice said again.

"Well," Logan said, "Diane hasn't changed much. When we got there she was whining to the werewolf chick here."

"Thanks, Tyson," I heard Diane say dryly from beside me. I panicked for a second, not knowing what to do. Should I pretend to wake up like her? Should I still stay asleep? My breathing picked up a little, and I felt Diane reach down and squeeze my hand really hard. I got the message.

"Ah, Diane, glad you could join us," Tyson said. _Tyson_. That sounded so familiar. _Oh_! I thought, as things started to click together. Tyson was Greg's brother, the rightful heir to the throne who ran away! Oh my god! Tyson was in charge of this!

"I would say I was glad to be here, but, well, I'm not," Diane told them. Hey, that's something I would have said! "Hello, Logan. Hello, Devin."

"Hello, Diane. I've missed you," Logan said sarcastically. Well, at least it sounded sarcastic, his thick accent made it hard to tell.

"Hello, Diane," the third voice said. That must be Devin. His voice was deep like Tyson, yet was firmer. I wanted to open my eyes so bad, because I knew who Devin was.

"_My parents had three kids, my brother, Devin, then me and then my sister Amanda. Devin and I never got along when we were younger, and he always hung out with his friends, Logan, and Tyson..."_ I remembered Brysdon saying.

This was his older brother; the brother that ran off with his friends and who Brysdon's dad still resented him for. I was pulled out of my thoughts again when I heard footsteps walk toward us. I knew someone must have knelt down, because their scent grew extremely strong all of a sudden, and I could here their almost non-existent breaths. I felt a cold hand graze my cheek, and I almost shivered at the touch, but I managed to keep still. My head was leaning back against the wall, and was slightly tilted to one side.

"This is her, correct?" I heard Devin say. "The girl who Brysdon saved from you and Sheldon."

"Yep," Logan said, "That's the bitch."

"Her name is Rose," snapped Diane. I knew she was only defending me because she didn't like these guys, but still, it was kinda nice.

"She's a beautiful girl," Devin said quietly. The floorboard squeaked and his scent was not as strong now, so I knew he had stood up.

"Ugh, what else is new?" Diane complained. I heard someone snicker, and my curiosity got the best of me. I figured there was no point of me pretending to be knocked out anymore, so I started to move a little. I rolled my head back so it was resting completely on the wall now and groaned a little. My head was still throbbing, but it didn't feel like I would die anymore.

"Look," I heard Logan say, "She's waking up."

It was an effort to try and get my eyes open, but they finally fluttered open and I took in my surroundings. The room we were in was dark and very small, with only a small light on the ceiling to see from. The walls were a dark wood, and the ground was gray cement. There was one door on the opposite wall and it was made from the same dark wood. Diane was sitting in the same position as I next to me, and the three men were standing a few feet in from of us. I recognized Logan first, and he was standing in the middle of the three. He was the smallest, but still at least 5'll. His dark brown hair was cut short, and his red eyes were staring straight out me.

The man on the left was who I guessed to be Tyson, because of his dirty blond hair. He had the same blue eyes and oval shaped face as Greg, but his eyes had a red hint to them. Of course he was gorgeous, and he was taller than Logan by a couple of inches. His high cheekbones made him look older than the others, but I knew they had to be close in age.

So that meant Devin was the man on the right. He was shorter than Tyson, but taller than Logan. Devin's hair was dark and cut in a buzz cut, and his eyes were the same green-black as Brysdon's, (although they had the red hint just like the others). The thought of Brysdon made my chest ache, so I tired to put it to the back of my mind. _Focus, Rose,_ I told myself. Devin, like his younger brother, was extremely handsome at first sight, but also very scary. The difference though, was that Brysdon was sort of a controlled scary, while Devin looked like he was just barely controlling his anger. His jaw was clenched and his muscles rippled slightly when he noticed me looking him over.

"Ah, Rose, thanks for joining the party," Logan said. I just glared up at him and tried to adjust my position. My ass was numb and my legs were cramped, but my arms were so weak I could barely sit my self up again. I stretched out my legs and let out of sigh of relief.

"Hello, Rose," Tyson said, stepping forward so I could see him more clearly, "My name is Tyson."

"Hello, Tyson," I said. I thanked God that my voice didn't squeak. "You must be Greg's brother."

I honestly didn't know what kind of response I would get from my comment, but I thought it would be fun to see. They all looked slightly surprised, but Tyson actually flinched. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who saw it.

"I'm surprised he told me about you," he said calmly, his expression controlled.

"He didn't," I said quietly, and then I looked at Devin, "Brysdon did." It clicked to him in that moment that I knew who they all were, and Devin just continued to stare back at me. Then he took two steps forward and knelt down in from of me. I leaned back against the wall further, but he just leaned closer into me.

"From what I've heard," he said darkly, "My younger brother seems very fond of you." I didn't know what to say back, so I just remained quiet. "It would be a shame if something happened to a pretty girl like you," he said, and tucked a strand of hair back behind my ear. It was a sweet jester, but his eyes were so dark and menacing that it took all my strength not to start shaking. He stood up swiftly and looked down at both of us on the floor, before turning around and walking out the door. I tried to see what was outside of the door, but he opened and closed it so fast I couldn't see anything.

"Unfortunately, ladies," Tyson said, "I can't take the risk of just leaving you here unguarded, so I'm going to have to leave some of our men outside of your door. Now, I'm just going to warn you, we're giving you a privilege of not being tied and gagged in here. If you try and escape in any way, I will take the privilege away, understood?" He looked at both of us for a response, but neither of us said anything. "Good," he said, and then turned around and left the room with Logan right behind him. It was silent in the room for a few minutes after they left. Only the sound of occasional footsteps could be heard from upstairs, but either than that it was quiet.

"What do you think they want with us?" I whispered to Diane quietly. No one was around, but I still felt like I had to whisper to her.

"I don't know," she said back in a quiet voice. "Maybe they'll use us as black mail or something." She sighed, and I could tell she was tired. "Right now, we're hostages of war," she said lightly, trying to make if funny. But it wasn't funny, because it was pretty much the truth.

"I wish Brysdon were here," I whispered weakly. I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but I couldn't help it. I missed him so much, and I wanted him to get us out. To me, he was still indestructible.

"Yeah," Diane said, "For once, wolf girl, I agree."


	39. I have a plan

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone! You know what I'm thankful for? All of my wonderful, beautful, smart readers. I hope everyone has fun over their break, and like this chapter. It's pretty long, so please review! -Molly Rose**

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That grumbling. It's so annoying."

"That's my stomach, Diane. I can't stop my stomach from growling. I'm use to eating six meals a day, and now I'm getting two." I was dying from hunger. Well, not literally, cause a werewolf could pretty much survive for weeks and weeks without food. It was just so _uncomfortable_. We never left the small room, except for some very short bathroom breaks, where they would shove me into the small bathroom right across the hall from the room we were staying in. They would always blindfold me before going in and out of the room, so I couldn't see anything. The vamps would come in twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and give me some form of food. It was usually really bad soup, some crackers, and a cup of water. For Diane, well, it was a little different. We had been there for four days, and on the fourth day, Diane was starving.

Her eyes had gone completely black, and she tried to sit as far away from me as possible. She hadn't fed for a week before we were captured, and now my blood was becoming so tempting. It was scary, to tell you the truth, to think that at any moment she could decide it was too much and jump me. I was taller and stronger than her, but I was weak from food shortage and she was ravenous. My only chance would be to change into my wolf form, and I really didn't want to do that.

On the fourth afternoon, Logan and Tyson came in to deliver my food. Usually, it was one of the other vampires that I guessed were low ranking in the coven. So when the two men came into the room and sat my tray in from of me, I was slightly surprised.

"Hello, Diane," Tyson said, "Rose." He nodded to both of us. "How are you ladies doing?"

I snorted sarcastically. "Just jolly, Tyson."

He smiled grimly and looked at Diane. "And how about you Miss Diane?" Slowly, Diane lifted her head to look up at them. I almost gasped out loud. She was paler than normal, and her eyes had dark circles under them. They were so black that you couldn't tell the pupil from the iris, and they looked animalistic.

"Yes," Tyson chuckled darkly, "That's what I thought. Hunger is getting the best of you, isn't it?" Diane didn't reply, and just continued to stare up at them. Logan looked at Tyson, and he nodded.

"Bring him in," Logan said. A young vampire, who I recognized from brining me my food once, walked into the room and shut the door behind him. In his arms, was a little boy.

"No," I heard Diane whisper. I didn't understand. Why would they bring in a young boy? He looked to be about the age of four, and he had big blue eyes and white-blond hair. He was adorable, but his clothes looked crumpled and old and his cheeks had smudges of dirt on them. They set the boy down a few feet in front of Diane, and stepped back. She took one look at the boy, whose young face was filled with fear and tears, and she started to scoot away.

"What....?" I asked weakly, but before I could finish my question, it dawned on me. Diane's eyes, if possible, grew even more black and fierce as she tried to get away from the scent of the little boy. He held out his arms to her, crying, wanting for her to hold him.

"Get away from me," she said, pleading with him.

"Oh, come on, Diane," Logan said, teasingly, "I know you're hungry. We've brought you a meal." She looked up at him darkly, but he continued to smirk down at her. I started to hyperventilate.

"His name is Toby," he continued, "We heard his parent's screaming his name when we had them for lunch. They were so _delicious_, so I'm guessing he will be too. Just his scent makes me thirsty right now." He smiled slightly at her and licked his lips. Tyson put a hand on his shoulder, and Logan stepped back.

"Diane," Tyson said, and then walked over and kneeled down in front of her, "Have him, right now. I know you want to. You want to use your fangs to rip into his throat and drown him of all his blood. We brought you a child for a reason. You know you have to drink all of him to be satisfied. You're starving, I can see it. Drink his blood, Diane, be one of us. It feels amazing, and you'll have double the energy. He doesn't have a family anymore, anyway." We heard a snicker come from Logan, and Tyson gave him a look that said 'Shut the hell up'. Then, as if in slow motion, Tyson took something out of his pocket. There was a click, and a small, but extremely sharp, army knife popped out. Tyson took the knife and reached around the boy, and then very slowly started to make a cut down the little boy's cheek. The boy didn't even flinch; he just continued to silently cry harder than before. The cut was long and was now dripping with blood down the boy's face and neck. Diane was going to lose it; I could see it in her face. She wasn't breathing anymore, trying to hold her breath so that she couldn't smell the blood.

"Stop it!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. "Let him go!" I started to go for them, but in one quick motion, Logan had punched me to the ground. He had hit me so hard that I thought he broke a bone in my face, but I hadn't heard a crack. There was definitely going to be a bruise there.

"Shut up, Bitch," he hissed at me.

"Be calm, Logan," Tyson said, "No need to be cruel." I almost laughed at the irony in that statement.

"Listen closely, Diane," Tyson said, leaning down again so she could focus on him and not the bleeding toddler in front of her. "I'm going to leave Toby in here with you, so you can drink him without the audience of us two gentlemen. But let me make myself clear, this will be your last meal for a very, very long time." Diane scowled at him, but her instincts were starting to take over. Logan and the other vampire walked over to the door and left, while Tyson got up and started to follow them. Before he opened the door to leave, he turned to Diane and said darkly, "Unless...you would like to get a taste of Miss Rose here. Then, we can talk." He turned, winked at me, and then left the room.

"Diane, wait-" I started to say, but it was too late. Diane had reached forward, grabbed the boy, and bit into his neck. The boy let out a small cry and started to struggle, but Diane held on so hard that he couldn't move. She was gulping down his blood, and it started to tickle down their faces and too the ground.

"Don't do it, Diane," I said, slowly walking over to them, "Be strong, and don't kill him. I know you don't want to, because you're not like them." I knew if I got too close, she would lash out violently, probably killing the boy in the process.

"Please, Diane, stop it." Her gulping had gotten slower, but it still hadn't stopped completely and I knew if she drank too much more the boy would die. "You're not like them," I pleaded with her. "You're good. You're good."

All of a sudden, Diane opened her eyes. She drew away from the boy's neck, and shoved him at me frantically. The little boy collapsed against me, and I pulled him into my chest.

"Diane..." I started to thank her, but her face was pure agony.

"Get him away from me," she said fiercely.

"Diane I-"

"GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed, before crawling over to the corner of the room, sitting down, and putting her head in her hands. She sat in a fetal position and rested her head on her knees, which were sharking violently. I quickly picked up the boy and walked to the far corner of the room. I set him down in front of me, so that he was between me and the wall, but more importantly, so that I was between him and Diane.

He was still conscious, so I stood him up while I knelt down in front of him on my knees. He was still crying silently, but the tears and blood were mixed together and dripping down his face. He looked so tired, and his eyelids kept fluttering like he was about to fall asleep at any second. I knew I needed to get the gash on his neck cleaned up before anything else, so I took off my shirt and ripped it into pieces. Since he wasn't thrashing around in pain, I guessed that Diane hadn't injected any of her venom into his system.

"Hi, Sweet heart," I said gently, continuing to rip up my shirt into strips. He didn't answer me, but his crying slowed down slightly. "My name is Rose. What's your name?"

"T-Toby."

I reached over to my tray and grabbed my cup of water. I offered the cup to him, but he just looked at it like the cup would hurt him. "It's okay, it's just water." He continued to stare at me for a minute, and then his small hands reached out and took the cup. He brought it to his lips, and took three small sips before handing it back. I took one of the strips and dipped it into the cup. "Okay, Toby, this is going to hurt a little bit, but I need to do this so you can get better. Can you do one thing for me, Toby?" I asked him sweetly. He nodded his head slowly. "Can you just hold very, very still for me? Will you do that for me, Baby?" He nodded again.

I took the cloth from the cup, and started to clean off the skin around his wound. He flinched at first, but then he held as still as he could. I got all the blood off so that I could see the actual wound. It wasn't as big as I thought, but all the blood had made it seem much bigger. It was about as long as my index finger and not very wide, but it was deep. Once I was done with the wet cloth I threw it aside, and got a new, dry one. I folded it up into a square and pressed it against the wound. Toby jerked slightly, and I looked up to see his pained face. He looked so tired and afraid, I felt so bad for adding pain to his emotions.

"What's your favorite color, Toby?" I asked. _Stay awake,_ I pleaded in my mind_._ I couldn't tie a bandage around his neck tight enough because it would strangle him, so I had to tie in around his small chest at a weird angle.

"Green," he said quietly.

"Mine, too" I told him, continuing to cover up his wound. I took another strip of my shirt and tied it up and around his neck, and then down to his chest the other way. "It use to be yellow, but then it changed this summer." I secured the bandages and checked to make sure that they were covering up the gash. Once I knew it was secure, I took another strip and dipped it in the cup again.

"Why?" He asked, sleepily. I looked at him hesitantly with the wet cloth in my hand, and he nodded. I placed one hand on his cheek and tilted his head one way so that I could start cleaning off his face.

"Well, I met someone this summer," I said, whipping at his cheek, trying to stop the bleeding. "I love him very much. Black and green are the color of his eyes, and whenever I think of the color green, I think of him." I finished cleaning off the wound, and examined it. It wasn't big, but it was definitely going to scar.

"Green was the color of Mommy's eyes," he said sadly. I noticed he said _was_, instead of _is_.

"Your Mommy?" I asked gently, stroking his cheek.

"They told me my Mommy was gone," he said, starting to cry again.

"Bastards," I swore softly.

"I'm really tired," he said and started to sit down.

I reached behind me and grabbed my bowl of soup for him. "Before you go to sleep, you need to drink this, Sweetie." I knew he had to get some type of food in him quickly because he had so much blood loss. He looked at it hesitantly and then looked up at me. I nodded, and he started to slowly sip at the soup. Before long, the soup, and crackers, were gone and he handed the bowl back to me. I was glad that he had had the food, but my stomach growled at the thought of not eating until morning.

"Can I go to bed now?" he whispered. I stroked his white-blond hair and nodded. I sat back against the wall, sighed, and stretched my legs in front of me. I pulled Toby towards me, and he sat in my lap, with his head rested in the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around him, silently comforting him, and before long his breathing had slowed and evened out and I knew he was sleeping. A few minutes later, I was starting to drift off, too, when I heard Diane speak.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Her head was still down, resting on her knees, but it was turned sideways so that I could see her face. She was still pale, but the bruises under her eyes were not as dark and she didn't look like she was going to attack Toby. "If you weren't here..." she trailed off, but she didn't need to finish. '_If you weren't here, I would have killed him.'_

"It's okay," I said, slightly surprised by her thanks. "Don't worry, I have a plan."

Third Person

"Why do you think they called us here?" Sean asked to no one in particular. They were all sitting in Emily's living room, waiting for someone to come and tell them what was going on. There were eight people in the room, all of them anxious for news. Sean and Emily were sitting together on the couch, holding each other's hands. Frank was sitting next to Emily with Janice next to him. Greg was sitting in one of the lounge chairs, and Shannon was sitting in the one opposite of him. Amanda was sitting on the floor with her back pressed up against Emily's knees. The only one standing was Brysdon, and he couldn't stand still for more than a second.

He was always pacing, and when he wasn't pacing, he looked like he wanted to be pacing, or like he was about to murder someone. With Rose gone, no one was there to comfort him, or to tell him to just sit still. It drove him crazy. Rose's absence was hard on everyone, but it seemed to be the hardest on Brysdon. Of course, he was worried about Diane, too, but in comparison, he could only focus on his love.

He kept blaming himself. _How could I have not of heard them?_ He kept asking himself. The vampires must have been very close by, hiding in the woods, when he was talking to Rose and Diane at the waterfall. _**How could I have not heard them?**_ Brysdon knew he was only thinking about telling the king and queen about him and Rose on his way home. But still, it was his job to keep Rose safe, and he failed.

They had all tried looking for them. Many of the werewolves and vampires had gone out to where Brysdon had led them to the waterfall, and tried to follow the trails of their scent. But the vampires were smart. They had ran around in all directions, making fake trails as far as ten miles, throwing off anyone who would try and follow them. They were still looking, but everyone knew that they had no leads. It drove Brysdon insane, not knowing if Rose was hurt or even alive...he started to pace again.

Surprisingly, when Brysdon had told the king and queen about his relationship with Rose, they were understanding.

"Rose's father was one of the greatest men I had ever known, and my best friend," the king had said, "I know he would be proud to have someone like you to watch after his only daughter, Brysdon." The queen had agreed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Of course, they warned Brysdon that the werewolves would not be as understanding, but Brysdon assured him that he was aware.

"I'm sure it will all be okay, my dearest," the queen had said. Brysdon wasn't so sure, be he knew he wouldn't give up. Of course, he was elated to go and tell Rose that the king and queen approved, but he was already too late.

Sean watched as Brysdon's large form walked to one end of the room, turned around, and then walked the other way. _Poor guy_, Sean thought. He had been the one to tell Brysdon that Rose was gone.

"Gone?" Brysdon had asked. "I don't understand." Sean had barely been able to speak the words himself. Those stupid, filthy, blood-sucking leeches had kidnapped his little sister. Brysdon had gotten furious once Sean had explained, and demand to know everything, but that's pretty much all that Sean had known. Once they had all gone on a search, and they didn't find anything, everyone's spirits had dropped. But not Brysdon's, he was still as ferocious as when he first found out. Telling Emily had been harder, she had cried of course, for a long time, but Sean was able to comfort her. No one could comfort Brysdon. They didn't know how.

Four days later, they were all gathered in Emily's living room. Someone had come and found all of them, telling everyone to go to Emily's and wait until someone came to tell them something. Very vague, but it was better than nothing.

"Maybe they have information on where Rose and Diane are," Emily said hopefully. Sean squeezed her hand and gave her a tight smile.

"I doubt it," Shannon said. "They probably gathered us to tell us that they're dead.'

"Don't say that!" Brysdon lashed out.

"Well it's true!" She shot back. Sean had noticed that his twin dealt with her feelings differently than everyone else. Like every other emotion, she channeled it to negative energy. Sean knew she still worried though. She might not like Rose that much, but she still loved her. It makes sense if you think about it.

"Fighting won't help anything, guys," Frank said quietly from where he was seated.

Everyone sat up straighter in their seat, though, when they heard someone come through the back door and into the living room. It was Daniel, and he had a serious, yet slightly hopeful, expression on his face. He didn't waste any time with niceties.

"We have a lead," he said immediately. Brysdon stopped pacing and turned to look at Daniel intensely. Sean stood up, and Emily grabbed Frank's hand instead. Greg turned to look at Daniel, and Amanda went from the floor to the couch. "There was a vampire attack at one of the cabins in the woods about forty miles from here. It's far, but there was a family of three living there. Both the adults are dead, and we think the vampires stole the child."

"So?" Brysdon asked. It sounded insincere, but no one thought twice about it because they wanted to hear what this had to do with Rose and Diane, as well.

"We checked it out before we called the police. There were many scents, but two main ones stood out to the vampires that were with us. They said they were Logan's and Devin's." That got everyone's attention, and they all waited for the rest. "We had someone follow their trail back to an old house deep in the woods. It looks promising, and we're almost positive that's where they're keeping Rose and Diane. I thought we should tell all of you first before anyone else."

The faces around the room held many emotions. Happy, worried, anxious, scared, and fierce.

"Well, let's go then!" Brysdon said.

"Yeah!" Sean agreed, "We're wasting time!"

"We can't just jump in," Daniel said sternly. "We're not ready. We decided to head out tomorrow morning, when we have enough people to defeat the coven for good."

"Tomorrow morning isn't soon enough!" Brysdon shouted. He didn't know if he could even stay here for one more minute.

"Brysdon," Greg said, getting up from his seat, "If we go in now, people will get killed. We're. Not. Ready." Greg looked Brysdon in the eyes, silently pleading with him. Brysdon seemed to calm down, and looked at Daniel again.

"Don't worry, Son," Daniel told him, and put a hand on his shoulder, "I have a plan."

**Review please!**


	40. Run

**Here it is! I made sure I didn't wait as long to update as last time, and I hope you're happy. I actually wrote this all tonight, haha, and got soooo carried away. I actually didn't do any of my homework. Oh well, this is more important lol. **

**The next chapter will probably be my last or second to last, just to let you know it's ending soon. I've already wrote forty chapters, and I don't want the story to drag on. Thank you to all of my readers, I really love you guys! Hope you like it, and review with your thoughts! -Molly Rose**

_Rose..._

_Roosse..._

_Roooossseeee..._

"ROSE!"

I shot up like a bullet from my position on the ground. Diane was hovering over me, her hand still on my shoulder from shaking me awake.

"Jesus, does it take a bomb to wake you?" She said.

"Sorry," I told her, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, "I was really tired." I finally had the chance to sit up and I looked at Diane. She had wiped most of the blood from her mouth, but there were still faint red stains on her chin and neck. "Toby!" I said, remembering the scared child, and looking around frantically.

"He's still sleeping," Diane said, as she pointed to my left. The little boy was lying on his stomach, and his hands were resting underneath his cheek, acting as a small pillow. "I can't believe he didn't wake up when I shouted your name." I reached over and made sure he was still breathing, and then stroked his blond head gently.

"How long has it been?" I asked her.

"Only a couple of hours," she said sadly. I looked her up and down. She was still kneeling, but she seemed calm and controlled. She noticed my scrutiny and sighed. "Yea, I know, I'm afraid, too. The hunger isn't killing me right now. I...I took enough from the kid to keep me satisfied for at least another couple of hours. It was stopping that was the hard part." She let herself fall down and sat on her butt, curling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them.

"But you did stop," I said, reaching my hand out, then pulling it back when I realized she might not be ready for me to touch her yet. "That was a very strong thing to do, Diane. The king and queen would be proud of you."

"You think?" she said, genuinely happy with my compliment.

"Yeah," I said, nodding my head and giving her a small smile. She smiled back for a moment, but then her lips turned to a smirk.

"Okay, wolf girl, what is this big plan that you have for us? And it better work, or I won't wait for Tyson to kill you, I'll do it myself." Well, so much for that nice moment.

"It's pretty risky-"

"Riskier than staying here? Waiting for the vamps to do what they want with us or me going crazy and killing you from starvation?"

"Uh...I guess not," I told her. "Okay, here's what were gonna do," I said, while I motioned for her to lean close and I whispered the plan into her ear, just in case the guards outside were feeling nosey.

"Okay, baby, listen to what I'm going to say, okay?" Toby nodded his head gently as I lifted him and brought him to the corner of the dark room. "When the men come in, just sit in the corner and wait for me to get you, okay? Don't make any sound, and don't move. It'll all be over in a minute, and we'll be out of here."

"Okay," he whispered, and I sat him down in the corner of the room. I made sure he was on the side of the room as the door, so when the vamps came in and looked directly at me and Diane, they wouldn't see him first. To them, Toby was already Diane's lunch. I started to walk away from his corner, but then I heard his small voice.

"Rosie?" he said softly.

"Yeah, Honey?" I said, smiling at my nick name.

"I love you," he said softly. I almost started to cry. I could remember that age, when it was so easy to love anyone. If you loved them, you loved them. Simple as that. When you were a kid, love came easy to you, without complications. He had only known me for a couple of hours, and he already thought he loved me.

"I love you, too, Toby," I told his softly, not strong enough to deny him or any comfort.

It was around the time of day when they would bring me my afternoon meal, and we were waiting until someone came into the room. We heard footsteps coming down stairs, and I knew that my meal was being delivered. I looked at Diane, she nodded, and I dropped to the floor. I was in the center of the room, lying prostrate on the ground, and Diane crouched down over me. Her back was to the door, and I turned my head away so that my neck would be more available to her. The footsteps were getting closer, and I knew it was time. Diane bared her teeth, and bent down to bite my neck.

I let out a scream of bloody murder, and started thrashing around, but her hands shot out and held me down. I heard the footsteps in the hall stop, and then sprinting as they got louder and louder. The door burst open, and I could hear whoever was delivering my meal let out a stream of curses before rushing over to Diane. Right before he was about to take her off of me, Diane whipped around, took the vamp by the throat, and started ripping. I didn't see what happened after that because I was on my toes, transforming in an instant. The two guards outside of our door, hearing all of the commotion of course, came rushing into the room. One ran over to Diane, and the other spotted me, running over to where I was in the center of the room. I finished transforming two seconds before he got to me, and I launched myself at his large form. There was a large 'boom' from the force of our bodies smacking into each other, and then a 'crack' and we hit the hard floor. I had the advantage, because I was on top of him, so I reached a paw up and swiped down at his face.

"Ahh!" the guard screamed, but then I stepped back, brought my paws up, and came down, hard, on his chest. I heard bones cracking and he screamed again, before I began clawing away. My instincts took over, and I could feel the red flash of heat wash over me as I watched my paws dig and rip through his skin and into his muscles. I wasn't quite sure if there was a special way to kill a vampire, but I had seen Brysdon rip out the vampire's chest in the woods that one day, so I guessed that did the job. I kept at it, trying to fight off the feeling of animalistic pleasure. By the time I was done, he was basically ripped to pieces.

I heard a grunt from behind, and realized that Diane was still dealing with the second guard. I mentally slapped myself for getting carried away, and then ran over to help. With our combined skills, the vampire was down in seconds. I sat on my hind legs for a second, trying to catch my breath and stop shaking from the adrenaline rushing through my body, and transformed to my human form.

"For a second there," I said, as I let out a relieved laugh, "I thought you were actually going to bite me."

"For a second there," she said back, "I was."

"Comforting," I told her.

"Wolf girl," she said calmly, "We need to move _now_. We're lucky none of the other vamps have come down yet." I nodded letting her know I agreed, and then I looked at Toby. He was still curled up in a ball in the corner of the room, but his eyes were staring at the bloody mess before him. His eyes were wide and horrified. I walked slowly over to the little boy.

"Rose! What are you doing? We need to go now!" Diane said, and rushed over to the door to see if anyone was coming. She walked out and into the hallway, but I kept my focus on the terrified boy in front of me.

"Toby," I said soothingly, "It's okay, it's just me. It's just Rose." He seemed to calm down some, but he stayed in his curled up position. "Come on, baby, it's okay. Come on. I won't hurt you." I leaned down and held out my arms to him. He relaxed some and crawled over to me and into my arms. I hugged him tightly, then lifted him up and carried him to the door. Diane was in the hall waiting.

"There's stairs down the hall, and I don't hear anyone upstairs. They must have left," she said hopefully.

"No," I told her, "That would be too easy." I walked to the stairs and listened closely, but still didn't hear anything. Weird.

"Hold him," I told Diane, and I reached out to give her Toby.

"Oh no," she whispered loudly, "No, no, no. I can't."

"You need to," I said, "I can't hold him while I'm in my wolf form, and I can't fight in my human form." She still looked hesitant, but she took the small boy from my arms. He reached out and held onto her, and she held him at an awkward angle on her hip.

"Thanks," I told her. "If anything happens up there and you need to fight, set him down somewhere behind us and don't let the vamps get behind you. Once were done, pick him up again and we'll move. Okay? Let me go up the stairs first. If it's clear...I'll bark." Diane snorted but nodded stiffly. I transformed into my wolf form quickly, and slowly started to creep up the staircase.

They were cement stairs, so I didn't have a problem with any creeks. The problem was opening the door. Paws aren't exactly the best for that. I figured I would have had to open the door quickly anyway, so I just took a few steps down the stairs and then rammed right through it. The door smashed into pieces, and once I was on the top floor I looked around quickly for any signs of vampire. No one was in the small, plain room that I was now standing in, and I didn't hear any footsteps running toward my direction in any other part of the house.

The room was small and white, with only a mismatched brown sofa and two black leather chairs for decoration. There was a shelf across from the sofa, and a TV sat on top of it. The room looked dirty and smelled of mold, and I doubt anyone had been living in it when the vampires took it for a hostage house. There was only one way out of the room, and I barked quietly, and then heard Diane come up the stairs. I inclined my head towards the entrance on the opposite side of the room, and then quickly ran through it. I found myself in a small kitchen consisting of only a small sink, an old stove, and cabinets. There were floor stains where the fridge and dishwasher use to be, and there were splatters of red on the cabinets and floor. I only gave myself a second to realize that this was blood, but then I kept myself moving.

I moved into the hallway leading off from the kitchen, and looked around. At the end of the short hallway was a door. A door to freedom. I quickly walked up and down the hallway, making sure no vampires were going to pop out, and signaled for Diane to follow me. I looked out the window to see lots and lots of trees. We were still in the woods, and I couldn't decide if this was good or bad. First, I reminded myself, I just had to get us out of here. I inclined my head toward the door, and Diane understood. She stepped forward and put her hand, that wasn't holding Toby, on the knob, and I readied myself. She flew the door open, and I was outside in an instant, searching for anyone in the trees. I couldn't see anybody, but something wasn't right. Diane, seeing that no one was there, starting to walk out the door, but I growled at her and she stopped. There was the scent of vampire all over the house, but it was old, maybe by an hour or so. But there was something else outside...a new scent. I couldn't figure it out, the scent was so strong, there was no way the scent could be that strong and the vampire not standing ten feet from me. I couldn't see anybody...Oh _shit. _

The second I realized it, a vampire launched himself from the roof right above and down on top of me. We hit the ground rolling, and the impact had my back aching in pain. I snapped my jaws at him, but he was quick and avoided them easily. The vampire wasn't big, but he was quick and light on his feet. My energy was draining from me, and right when I thought he might beat me, Diane came from behind him and hit him so hard on the head that he doubled over in pain. Taking my opportunity, I had him pinned down in seconds.

"You'll never get away," he hissed, right before I was about to tear him apart, "I heard you down stairs with the others. I've called Tyson and all of the rest. They're on their way here _right now_. They should be here any minute, and when they come, they'll rip your little h-"

Tired of his little speech, Diane reached forward, took his throat, and squeezed hard. I heard a loud popping noise, and then the vamp was out for the count. I looked behind me for Toby, and found that Diane had placed him safely on the front porch behind us. Changing from my wolf form, I walked over and kneeled down in front of him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him sweetly.

"Yes," he whispered. I picked him up and walked back over to the Diane. She was leaning over the vampire, checking his clothes for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked her urgently. "You heard what he said, they'll be here soon. We have to go."

"I'm looking for this," she said, as she reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a cell phone. She smiled smugly at me, and I took the phone from her. I dialed the first number that came to mind. They picked up on the last ring.

"Hello?" A deep, weary voice answered.

"Sean?" I said hopefully. There was a short pause before he replied.

"Rose? Is that you? Rose!"

"Yeah," I said, letting out a relieved breath. "It's me, big brother."

"Where the hell are you? Are you okay? What happened-" he started to say, but I interrupted him

"I have no idea where we are. We just escaped from an old house in the woods, but we're okay." I looked at Diane and Toby, "Mostly," I added.

"We're coming, Rose, right now. Just stay there."

"No!" I said, "The other vampires are coming. We have to get away, now."

"Okay," he breathed, and I could almost hear the thoughts racing through his mind. "Don't ask how, but we know where you are. Just start running east, as far as you can, we'll eventually run into each other."

"Okay," I said, about to hang up, but then he spoke again.

"Before you go, someone wants to speak to you-"

"Rose!" A deep voice roared over the receiver, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear to avoid damage.

"Brysdon!" I said.

"Oh, Rose. Baby, are you okay?" Tears sprang to my eyes as I heard his voice. _Don't cry,_ I told myself. _Be strong._

"Brysdon, I'm fine, but..." My voice started to trail off when I heard a distant sound. Footsteps. Lots and lots of fast, sprinting footsteps. My head snapped to Diane's and she listened intently.

"They're coming," I whispered fearfully.

"What?" Brysdon said over the phone. "What's happening, Rose?"

"They're coming, Brysdon. I have to go." I hesitated for a second before saying my last words. "I love you, Brysdon."

"Rose! Wait!" I hung up quickly and threw the phone on the ground.

"We have to go!" Diane yelled at me.

"I know, I know," I told her. I picked up Toby, and handed him to her again. "Listen to me closely, Diane," I told her and pointed toward the back of the house. "That's east. Our families will be coming here, and they'll be running from that direction. You'll eventually run into them, and you'll be safe. Just run as fast and as hard as you can, and keep Toby safe."

"What?" She asked, taking the boy in her arms. "You're coming, too, right?"

"No," I shook my head solemnly, but already making my decision. "I'm going to be running north, towards the vampires. Once they hear me, they'll get distracted and follow me. Then I'll run west, in the opposite direction of you."

"Rose!" She exclaimed, "That's suicide."

"With you carrying Toby, you'll be slowed down. Plus, you have to concentrate on going east, so that you'll find our tribe. The vampires would catch us quickly, and kill us." I could hear the vampires getting closer by the second, so I quickly gave them a hug. "Just run as fast as you can, Diane, okay? Once you find my tribe, tell them where I'm going, and I'm sure everything will be fine. Plus," I said, trying to encourage her with a smirk, "I'm the fastest werewolf I know, and I don't give up easily." Diane just continued to frown, so I nudged her in the right direction.

"Go," I said urgently. She took one final look back, and then sprinted into the woods with Toby in her arms.

I sighed. _Here I go again with my crazy, last minute decisions that will probably get me killed. But this way, Toby and Diane will be safe, and my tribe will have the advantage of sneaking up on the vampires instead of clashing into them head on_. I had a feeling that I would run faster that day than I had ever run in my life, and that's saying something.

**Okay, raise your hand if you thought she was going to call Brysdon?**


	41. Faster

**Hey Everyone! **

**So basically, this is the end of my story. I will add one more update after this, sort of like an epiloge so that everyone can see what happens to Toby and all of that. I really really really loved writing this story and I hope that all of you loved reading it! Rose has really matured through the story and I hope you come to love her too!**

**This is one of the longest chapters, so I think you guys will really like it! Here ya go ;) Molly Rose**

I took off north, running directly towards the vampires. I could hear them more clearly now in my wolf form; they were about half a mile away. I knew they heard me too, because their footsteps went from sprinting to even faster sprinting. I kept going, scared out of my mind, but I knew this is what I had to do. Hopefully Diane ran into my tribe quickly and told them where I was heading so that they could come after us.

The noise got closer and closer, until all of a sudden I saw them. There was Tyson and Devin in front, and a few other vampires I didn't know. I couldn't tell how many were running behind them, but there was a lot more of them then me. I didn't waste any time, just making sure one of them saw me, and then I jumped off a tree and quickly switched directions going west. _Come on_, I thought, _follow me away from Diane and Toby._

My legs were pumping so hard, and I'm sure I was going at ridiculously fast speeds. I was a white blur moving through the forest, dodging trees and jumping over rocks. I took a second to look back, and found that at least twenty vampires were following me. Part of my mind was happy that my plan had worked, and I was leading them in the opposite direction of my family. The other part of my mind was thinking of all the horrible things they would probably do to me if they caught me.

I forced my legs to run harder, making sure that the vampires were chasing me deep into the woods.

_Faster,_ Brysdon thought to himself, _we have to move faster than this to get there in time_.

He knew that Rose was running towards them, but he wouldn't feel better until he saw her. The phone call that they had received thirty minutes before had filled Brysdon with joy and fear. Joy that Rose was still alive, fear that the vampires were coming after her and Diane. He was ready, so ready to tear each and every one of those vampire's heads off. _No_ _one_ messed with his family, and Rose and Diane were his family. Quickly after Rose had hung up, Sean and Brysdon had informed Daniel and the king what was happening. They all decided that they couldn't wait until morning, so they quickly gathered an army and set out. They couldn't follow Daniel's worked out plan of closing in on the vamps, but this would have to do.

Brysdon couldn't decide what he would do first, take Rose into his arms, or rip off Tyson and Devin's faces. Rose first, then the bastards, he decided. He was getting anxious with the pace that they were moving at. They were running extremely fast, but Brysdon could be going faster. Daniel had argued that if they were sprinting too fast, they wouldn't be ready when the vamps came. So Brysdon slowed down his pace slightly, yet he was still one of the men in the front line.

They had left Emily, Frank and Amanda at home, worried about their safety. Emily was accepting, knowing that she wasn't ready to fight. Amanda and Frank...not so much. Amanda had insisted she go and help, but Brysdon and her father had persuaded her into staying. Brysdon didn't want to have to worry about Rose _and _his little sister getting hurt. Frank felt left out, wanting to help as well, but he was too young and inexperienced.

"Someone's coming," the king said, snapping Brysdon out of his thoughts. Everyone stopped, wanting to be prepared for whoever was heading their way, even though it was most likely Rose and Diane. A white flash of panic washed over Brysdon as he started to realize...

"Be ready," Jona informed us.

"Something's not right," Brysdon said. Daniel, Sean, Damien, Kellen, Erik, Kevin, Greg and the king all looked over at Brysdon. "There's only one set of footsteps...and it's two legs, not four." Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the noise, and before long, Diane emerged from the trees with a little boy in her arms.

"What the-" I heard Damien say, as I rushed over to Diane. Greg and his father got there before me.

"Diane!" Greg said, and hugged her tightly, but he was careful of the boy.

"No time to explain," she said urgently. She looked a mess, with her hair everywhere and bloodstains down her neck and on her shirt. Her eyes looked hollow and black, and Brysdon knew she must have been starving.

"Where's Rose?" I asked her quickly.

"She's suppose to be with you," Daniel said quickly, while Sean and Damien nodded their heads, waiting for an explanation. Daniel had transformed so that he could give orders, but Sean was still in his wolf form and Damien had just transformed back into his.

"She's running north and then west, trying to get the vampires to follow her. They were too fast, and they would have caught us, so she needed to lead them away from us. I tried to stop her but-" Brysdon didn't wait for Diane to finish. He was off, sprinting faster than ever towards the cabin. His thoughts were racing. _Of course she would do this! How stupid! She's going to get killed! _He was furious with her. Didn't she know that he couldn't live without her?

He looked over his shoulder quickly at the sound of someone following him. Sean was a few feet behind him, and Daniel and the king were right behind them. It was unspoken that they had abandoned the 'no-sprinting' plan, and Brysdon recognized the rest of the pack and coven running behind them. He sprinted as fast as he could, trying to avoid trees, towards the cabin. Once he finally saw it, he took off east, picking up Rose's trail and following it as fast as he could.

All I could see were trees, in every direction. I had been running for at least a half an hour, and my legs were starting to ache from the intensity of it all. The adrenaline was pulsing through me, but sooner of later I would have to stop. I was running on almost no energy, and I craved for a couple cheeseburgers.

I had to find something to slow the vampires down, for I could feel them getting closer and closer as we ran. I searched for something, but all I could see were trees. I didn't want to go to out of the way because I knew if my tribe were following us, it would be easier for them just to track my scent in one direction. And food wasn't the only thing I was craving for. I wanted to see my family so badly that it hurt.

I wanted to hug my big brother Sean and my best friend Damien. I wanted to let Jona, Elizabeth and Daniel to know that I was okay, and make sure Emily and Frank knew also. Mostly of all, I wanted Brysdon to pull me into his arms and kiss me.

And then I saw it, piles of rocks that were leading up to a cliffs edge. I took my chance and steered towards them, changing my direction. I began climbing up the steep cliff, but my foot hit a loose rock, and I dropped to the ground. _No! _I thought silently. I could see the vampires running toward me now, only about fifty yards away. I got up and tried again, jumping to a small ledge quickly. I began jumping off small rocks and landing on small ledges that were climbing up the steep cliff. I didn't know what I would do once I got to the top, but I hoped there was room for more running. I tried to catch my breath on one of the rocks, but I looked down and saw a vampire reach up and swipe his hand at me. I had jumped just in time, but I needed to start going faster.

"Don't run, Fairday," I heard Logan say from below me, "We just want to play with you." My heartbeat accelerated, which I didn't think was possible.

_Not if I can help it_. I finally got to the top of the cliff, where there was a large, flat, field. The field was shaped in a half circle, the flat side being where the cliff dropped off. I planned on running into the trees, but I knew I wouldn't get far until the vampires caught me. So now I had to fight.

I ran to the middle of the field, and then turned around to face my attackers. At least stopping would help my tribe get here faster; I just had to figure out how to stay alive the longest. I tried to remember all of the techniques I learned in training on how to fight a vampire properly or without getting hurt that its.

The first one came over the cliff and hopped to her feet. She saw me crouched in the meadow, and I bared my teeth at her. She looked down the cliff and said something, and then I suddenly saw Devin standing beside her. He just stood there staring at me and waiting. I wondered why they hadn't chased after me yet. Probably because they knew I was done running, and was waiting for the other vampires to come up the cliff. I knew I should probably do something while there were only two vampires in the meadow, but I wanted to stall as long as I could. Only seconds later, Tyson and Logan had entered the meadow, and vampires were constantly emerging from the cliff face. Before long, there were at least twenty-five vampires standing across the meadow from me.

Tyson stepped forward, and I growled. "Now, now, Rose," he said, in a calm but menacing voice, "You shouldn't have run away like that. Now we're going to have to kill you." Like they wouldn't have killed me anyways. "Well," he continued, as if reading my thoughts, "Kill you sooner, that it."

I growled again and crouched lower, knowing that my bravado wasn't working, but it made me feel a little better. At least when I die, I died fighting. I was scared out of my mind, but I tried not to let it show. Not that they could probably tell, seeing as how it was hard to read the facial expressions of a wolf.

"Logan," Tyson said, "I'll let you handle her first. I know you've been itching to get a piece of her ever since the first day you caught her in the woods." Logan grinned, stepping out in front of the crowd of vampires. Devin looked at him angrily, but Tyson put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Devin," Tyson continued, "If, on a miracle, Rose manages to kill him, all of _us_ can take a shot at her." He smiled evilly, and looked out at me. "And I promise you, Devin, not even a miracle could save her then."

Tyson, seemingly not affected by his friend's harsh words, started to creep towards me. Taking no more time, he launched himself at me. I quickly jumped out of the way, and he landed behind me on his feet.

"You're a quick one," he said, "But you're not that strong."

He launched himself at me again, but this time when I tried to move away he grabbed my leg and pulled hard. I slammed into the ground, but quickly reached back and tried to snap at him with my jaws. He continued to pull and squeezed at my leg, so I took my front paw and hit his face. His head snapped back and his grip loosened on my leg. I took my opportunity to try and reach for his neck, but his hands shot out and moved me, so I reasoned for his shoulder instead. He yelled out in pain, so I clenched my jaws harder, breaking through skin and flesh. He put his hands around my throat, but I didn't let go until I couldn't breath. When I needed air, I let go but he quickly threw me off of him. I landed on my side and struggled to get up, but he had already raced over and pinned me down.

I had to think of something. I started to struggle beneath him, but he reached out and slashed at my stomach. My skin ripped open, and I could feel the blood seeping out. I howled in pain, and tried to get up, but I had no more energy left and he was much, much, stronger. I kicked my back leg up at him, and, seeing the leg coming, he took it in his arms and twisted it. I heard my leg snap, and white-hot pained seared through my body.

"Time to die," he muttered. Fear washed through my veins. There was nothing more that I could do. _I'm sorry Mom and Dad,_ I thought. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see how he was going to kill me.

All of a sudden, there was a large, horrible screech come from the cliff direction. My eyes snapped open, and since my head was already turned that way, I was able to see what was happening. There were more bodies near the cliff side than before, and some of them were wolves. _Wolves._ Finally, they were here.

Logan, startled by the commotion, looked back. It was only a second, but that was all I needed. I quickly pushed off the ground with my front legs, and reached for is throat. My jaws connected with skin, and I squeezed as hard as I could. I heard some popping and Logan made a gurgled sound. I shook my head, making sure I ripped out everything, before releasing him. Logan fell to the ground dead. I collapsed down next to him, barely being able to stand. I knew I was loosing a lot of blood, but there was nothing I could do. The thought of shifting to help heal it was out of the question. My eyes started to slide shut, and I knew I was about to pass out from the pain in my stomach and leg.

Before I closed my eyes completely though, I saw dirty-blonde fur_._ I looked up and saw a large wolf in front of me. Sean. He went to my side and tried to nudge me with his nose to get up. I didn't move. A large black wolf, Erik, came to help and they tried again, actually lifting, but I wouldn't move. He let out a high whine of pleading, but I just couldn't move, it hurt too much. I lifted my head and looked at them, then nodded toward the cliff's direction. _Go help them fight_, I silently urged. Erik didn't need any more encouragement, and took off to fight. I could tell Sean was in agony, trying to decide whether to help me or go fight. I nodded toward the cliff again, and he reluctantly started to walk away, before finally sprinting over to the vampires.

I was on the verge of passing out, but I knew I needed to get up, just so that I could at least go to the cover of the trees. The fight was starting to move towards me, and I flinched as two vampires tackled each other to the ground only a few feet away from me. I urged myself to get up, but the first couple of tries I failed. I slowly rolled on my stomach, trying to avoid my open gash. Then, slowly, I lifted myself to my feet, but keeping all of the weight of my back leg.

Once I was up, I looked over to see what was happening. There was fighting all around me, vampires on werewolves and vampires on vampires. Most of the commotion was still towards the cliff, but many of the vampires were starting to flee towards the woods, only to be tackled down by their pursuers. I watched as a vampire was thrown off a cliff by Damien's large wolf from. _Have fun landing with one leg ripped off, _I thought to the vampire. I started to slowly limp in the direction of the woods, but I had to stop a few times due to some of the fights got in my way. Halfway there, two vampires tackled each other to the ground in front of me, and I had to stop limping. I couldn't tell who was who, for I didn't recognize either vampire. The larger one, who was on top, reached down and ripped off the head of his attacker. It was so quick and easy it gave me chills.

The larger vampire, or should I say the one that was still alive, looked up and saw me. He smiled slightly, before baring his teeth and started to come for me. I realized that the bad vampire had won and started to panic. I quickly thought about yelling for help, but in a blink of the eye he leaped for me. I cringed back and waited for the impact, but it never came. Inches before the vampire got to me, he was tackled to the ground by blur. I looked down at the struggling vampires, and saw that Brysdon had already ripped his chest out violently.

When he was done, Brysdon stood up and turned toward me. I watched as his face went from violently angry to filled with agony. I probably didn't look too good at the moment. There was blood all over my white fur and on my mouth, and my back leg was twisted at an odd angle.

"No," he said softly. He started to walk towards me, but by the time he got to me I had hit the ground, unconscious.

I woke up in a meadow, filled with roses. I was lying down in the grass, so I quickly got up and looked around. I was wearing a simple, white summer dress that was pretty and comfortable. My hair was loose and around my shoulders, blowing in the slight breeze. I had no idea where I was, but I noticed there was no pain. I remember the fight, and I remember seeing Brysdon before passing out. I was in a lot of pain, but now I was perfectly fine?

"Rose," I heard a soft voice say from behind me. I turned around slowly, and then almost passed out again.

"M-mom?" I said. Tears started to gather in my eyes as I looked at her. She looked like me, with long dark brown hair and almond shaped eyes. My mother was beautiful, much more so than me. She was a few inches taller than me, and she was wearing the same type of dress.

"Come here, my darling," she said. I quickly ran to her and put my arms around her waist. She hugged me back tightly and kissed my hair. She still smelled the same, like honey.

"Oh, mom," I sobbed into her shoulder.

"Shhh," she whispered as she stroked my hair gently. After a few minutes of her comforting and me crying, I pulled back to look at her.

"Am I...dead?" I asked her.

"No, sweetie, you're not dead." She smiled at placed a hand on my cheek. "You almost died though," she continued, "That was a very risky thing for you to do, making the vampires follow you."

"I know," I whispered.

"But we're proud of you," Came a deep voice from behind me. I turned around to see my father.

"Dad!" I said, and I threw myself into him. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me from the ground slightly. I started crying again, and I pulled back to look at him. He was the same also. Tall, dark, and handsome. My parents made a very attractive couple. It helped that they were absolutely head over heals for each other, too. He went over to stand by mom and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What you did was very brave, Rose," my father said with a grin.

"And stupid," I said with a laugh, trying to whip away my tears. My mother placed a hand on my cheek again and I leaned into her.

"We love you sweetie, and we just wanted to tell you have proud you've made us," my father said as he ruffled my hair. Their forms started to fade slightly, and I reached out a grabbed them.

"No! Wait, please!" I said, wanting to spend as much time with them as I could.

"Don't worry, sweetie," my mom said, "You'll see us again one day." That made me feel slightly better, so I let go of them.

"One more thing," I said. "What about Brysdon?" I bit my lip, hoping they knew who he was.

"I think that if you love him, I love him," my mom said kindly.

"Yes," my father agreed, "And you can tell my brother to stuff it. Ace doesn't know what he's talking about," he added with a grin. I laughed slightly, and then hugged them again.

"I love you," I told them. "And tell Brian I love him, too."

"We love you, too," they said in unison, before disappearing.

Dark. That was all I could see when awareness came to me. _What happened?_ I thought. I could tell I was lying down somewhere, in a bed I thought.

I remembered seeing Mom and Dad. Relief and sorrow washed through me at the same time. Relief that I wasn't dead, and sorrow that they weren't with me. They had told me that they would see me again though, and that gave me new hope.

I tried to open my eyes, but they felt heavy. I eventually got them open, and realized that I was in a large room. I was laying in a large king sized bed, with a brown comforter over me. The walls were a light tan and there was dark wooden furniture decorating the room. I realized I was in Daniel's room. Weird.

I heard a noise on my right and looked over. Laying right next to me, practically on top of me, was my best friend Emily. She was sound a sleep, and I smiled when she took in a large breath of air. I looked over her shoulder and on to the floor, and notice a large form. Sean, also sound asleep. I then looked to my right, and saw two more people on the floor, Frank and Damien. I smiled at my friends, wondering how long they had been here. I could tell it was nighttime due to the fact that it was dark outside. The clock on the bedside table said it was ten thirty p.m. _They must be wiped_, I thought.

Not wanting to wake up my family, I carefully slid over to the right side of the bed and sat up. I felt stiff, but I was fully awake now. I was wearing a large t-shirt and boxer shorts, and underneath my shirt I felt something tight around my torso. I pulled up my shirt and looked down to see a large bandage covering my stomach. I then looked at my leg, where there was no cast. It was extremely sore though, and I tried not to move it too much as I slipped out of the bed. I finally maneuvered myself around Damien and Frank on the floor, and then slowly limped toward the door. My leg still hurt a lot, but at least I could walk on it. I silently opened the door, walked out, and then closed it behind me.

I limped down the hallway, taking my time and using the wall for support. I found the bathroom, opening the door and turning on the light. The first thing I did was look it the mirror. _Jeesh_, I thought, _I don't look too good. _There was a large bruise on my cheek that was a bluish purple, but other than that my face was okay. My leg was bruised and cut, and I didn't even want to really examine my chest or stomach, knowing that it wouldn't be pretty. My hair was a tangled mess, and I looked around in the drawers for a brush. Once I found one, I attempted to tame it, before just giving up and washing my face. Once I was done, I shut off the light and continued down the hallway and got to the stairs.

How the hell would I get down the stairs? I put my good leg down on the bottom step while supporting my weight on the handrail, and then slowly lifted my bad leg down. I continued to do this for the whole way down, and before I got to the bottom I was exhausted. There were voices in the kitchen, so I decided to start there, but half way down the hall I stepped on a squeaky part in the floor. There was a creek the second I stepped on it, and the voices in the kitchen stopped. I paused in the hallway, and I heard someone walk to the doorway. Seconds later, Ace appeared. He stared at me a few seconds, joy filing his expression, before quickly walking over to me. I met him half way and he took me into his arms, squeezing me tight.

"Oh, Rose," he said softly into my hair, "I was so worried about you."

"I know," I said into his shoulder, tears filling my eyes. He pulled back to look at my face and kissed me on the forehead. Elizabeth and Jona came to the doorway seconds later, and Ace moved aside so that they could hug me, too. They hugged me at the same time, and Elizabeth was crying and telling me how much she missed me and how we were going to go on a shopping spree and on and on and on.

When she finally released me, they helped me over to the kitchen where Daniel was waiting. He hugged me too, and kissed my hair.

"Good to see you're alright, kiddo," he said. I smiled and sat down, happy to be off my leg. Everyone sat down around me, and I almost started crying again at the joy in the room. Man, it was just a big cry fest for me.

"Diane and Toby?" I asked immediately.

"Perfectly fine," Daniel said. "Diane has hunted and is just fine now and Dr. Chapling fixed up the boy." Thank god.

"And, uh, what about me?" I asked.

"Your going to have a scar on your stomach, but other than that you'll be okay. Your leg wasn't broken, but you'll have to keep the pressure off of it for a few days. Every time you shift to your wolf form it will get better and better." I wasn't too happy about the scar, but I was thankful because it could have been much, much worse.

"I'm glad everyone's okay," I said, "But what about Toby?"

"Oh, goodness, Rose," Elizabeth said with a grin, "He is just the most adorable little thing I have ever seen. He kept asking for you over and over, until we just had to let him come see you while you were sleeping."

"What's going to happen to him?" I asked anxiously.

"Since both of his parents were murdered, we checked out his other relatives," Daniel said. "We're just going to have to see what happens." I wanted to know more, but I decided to not push the matter now.

"How long has it been?" I wondered.

"Two days," Ace replied.

"Wow, I've been out awhile." I don't think I've ever slept that long in my life.

"You needed the rest," Jona said. "We moved you to Daniel's house so that we could keep a better eye on you since someone is always here." Silence fell over the table, and I think everyone was thinking about how lucky we were that nothing horrible had happened. Ace cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"Um, can I speak to Rose alone, please?" He asked. Everyone nodded and they left the room. Ace moved to the seat next to me, and he took my hands in his.

"I was so worried about you the past couple of days, Rose," he started, "But that doesn't mean we should neglect the issues at hand."

"About Brysdon?"

"Yes, well, you see-"

"Look, I already know what you're going to say and-"

"No," he interrupted me, "You don't." I looked at him questionably and he sighed. "I know how harsh I was before about this whole thing, but I've reconsidered. You're an adult now, and I need to treat you like one." I smiled at this, but waited for him to continue. "I kept thinking that I wasn't protecting you as best that I could, and that you're parents wouldn't approve."

"But they would," I said.

"I know that now. Jona reminded me of how your father helped him and Elizabeth when they were going through what you are now with Brysdon. I also thought he might be dangerous, and that this all might be a small fling that you would get over. But by watching him over the past couple of days when you were gone, I've seen how much he cares about you. Daniel told me at the fight that Brysdon had fought with a vengeance, and he also saved many lives." He reached up and touched my cheek. "Just like your parents did."

"Daniel said that?" I asked proudly.

"Yes. I think that this is now out of my hands, and I just want you to know that it's okay with me." I reached out and pulled him into a hug.

"Um...where is he?" I asked, a little sheepishly, when we separated.

"Brysdon? We forced him to go hunting."

"Forced?"

"He wouldn't leave you. He said that he was going to sit there until you woke up, but he hadn't hunted since you left and he used a lot of energy in the fight. James ordered him to go hunting about three hours ago. He should be back any minute." I sighed. Of course, I just _had_ to wake up when he was gone.

Seeing my dejected face, Ace said, "How about you go back upstairs, I'll call Brysdon, and as soon as he gets back I'll send him up?"

"Okay," I sighed, and got up. By the time I finally got upstairs, my leg was aching. I didn't want to go back to the room with all of my friends, so I made a beeline for a guest bedroom instead. I walked into the room and to the glass door that led to a small porch. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, then leaned on the rail and looked into the backyard. Since Daniel lived on his own estate, he had tons of land in every direction of his house, perfect for werewolves. There was a full moon out, and I started to laugh at the irony.

I heard someone running from the woods, and I prayed that it was Brysdon. Seconds later, his form appeared from the woods. He hadn't seen me, and I smiled as I watched his intense movements as he urgently walked to the house. I moved to stand up so that I wasn't leaning completely on the rail. He caught the movement and stopped in his tracks, just staring up at me with a blank face.

I smiled and leaned over the rail to look down at him. "Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Less than a second later, he was climbing up the side of the house and onto the balcony. I stepped back to make room for him as he reached out and swung himself in front of me. I didn't wait for him, I just threw my arms around his shoulders and squeezed tight. His arms immediately wrapped around my waist and pulled me close to him. I was going to protest when he pulled back slightly, but then he started kissing me all over. On my forehead, my eyelids, my nose, my cheeks, my neck, my collarbone, the hollow bellow my ear. My hands went from his shoulders to his hair.

"Hug me tighter," I said softly.

"I don't," Kiss, "want," Kiss, "to hurt," Kiss, "you." My heart was going wild from the intensity, and I couldn't help myself anymore. I moved my head towards his and our lips met. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but the turned intense and hungry. Our tongues touched, and I grabbed his thick black hair in my fingers. Minutes later, he moved his hands to my face and gave me a sweet kiss on my nose.

"Don't ever," he said dangerously, "Scare me like that again, do you understand?"

I laughed. "I'm Rose, it's my job to get into trouble." He stroked his thumb across my cheek and sighed.

"You don't know how scared I was," he said softly. His beautiful green-black eyes were kind and loving.

"You don't know how scared _I _was."

"True." He said.

"What happened?" I asked, "I mean, to the other vampires."

"They were all killed," he said.

"All of them?" I asked.

"Well, two or three managed to escape, but all of the main leaders were killed." He seemed unaffected, but I knew better.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, putting my hand on his.

He sighed. "My brother knew what he was doing was wrong. These were the consequences. The rest were easy to kill." I shivered. Even though the vampires were all bad, it was a shame that all those lives were taken.

Brysdon's eyes moved to my cheek and they narrowed. "You going to tell me who gave you that bruise?"

"Logan," I said softly. He growled.

"Well, at least you took care of him," he said with a smile. "How is the rest of you?" I looked down at my body.

"My leg is sore, but I think it'll be okay if I keep the pressure off. Daniel said my stomach will be healed in a few more shifts, but I'll have a scar. Other than that, I'm perfectly fine." I grinned and kissed him.

"Good," he said.

We just stood there for a little while, staring at each other.

"I love you," he told me after awhile.

"I love you, too," I said back. And we kissed.

**Quick question: Does anyone think I should write a sequal or start a new story?**


	42. Epilogue

**Well, here it is. The last chapter of my first story. I want to thank all of the readers who read and reviewed this story. I just want you all to know that you guys are my biggest freaking fans, and that everytime I saw a review/alert/favorite that my day would be made. I love you guys!**

**A lot of you wanted a sequel, but I honestly wouldn't know where to begin. If you have ideas, please review or send me a message with your idea and I will definately consider. **

**Okay *sniff* this is so sad *sniff*. You guys are the best! Love all, Molly Rose.**

"W-what?" I asked lazily, pulling the covers over my head. I had awaked to someone lightly shaking me in my bed.

"Rosie," I heard him say softly. I pulled the covers down to see him looking at me hopefully from the side of the bed. I scooted over and lifted the cover up so that he could climb under. He scrambled in next to me and I laid the covers over him. His head was resting on the pillow and I propped my self up on my elbow to look down at him

"What's wrong, T-bird?" I whispered to him and stroked his blonde hair.

"I had a nightmare," he whispered back softly. This had been going on for a couple of weeks now. Toby would have a nightmare one night and wake up crying, and then he would either run to Brysdon or me. He usually switched off, one night he would go to Brysdon, and then the next nightmare he would go to me, and then the next was Brysdon. Brysdon had moved down to the basement because Toby was now staying in Shannon's room where Brysdon was before. Ace said that it was so Toby could get to me easily, which was probably true, but I think half of it was that Ace didn't trust Brysdon being so close to my room anymore.

Ever since we had rescued Toby, he was either with Brysdon or me. Elizabeth wanted him to stay with her at their house, but that didn't work out as planned. Whenever Toby would have a nightmare, he would wake up asking for me, and it wasn't long before we just moved him into Shannon's room for the time being. And if Toby wasn't with me, he was trailing Brysdon around like a little duckling. Whenever Brysdon did something, Toby would copy it. It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen, and I knew Brysdon fell in love with Toby just as quickly as I did. He would always reach behind him and pick Toby up so that Brysdon wouldn't trip on him. Of course everyone else fell in love with him also, it was hard not to. Elizabeth had a field day going and buying him new clothes and everything, and Emily did also. All of the guys would call him "Big-T" and ruffle his hair whenever they saw him. Even Shannon had warmed up to the kid.

At first we hadn't known what to do with Toby, considering both of his parents were murdered. Daniel checked out all of Toby's relatives, and it seemed the only possible guardian would be his Aunt who lived by herself in Canada. First we checked out her back round, and her criminal record was the first thing that popped up. Naturally, everyone unanimously agreed that Toby should just stay with us. Since the police that were investigating Toby's parents' case thought that Toby had just been killed along with his parents, it was easy for Toby to stay with us without getting noticed. I was too young to adopt of course, but Daniel and Elizabeth served as Toby's foster parents for the time being. Really though, Toby acted as if I were his mother, and Brysdon were his father.

Sean had even said that it was amazing Toby hadn't started calling me "mommy" yet, but I told him I didn't want him to. The word "mommy" isn't something that you can just give out to a mother-like figure. "Mommy" is a special word, reserved for the one woman who raised and loved you unconditionally. I'm positive that Toby's mother loved him (who couldn't?), and I never wanted to take that away from her. I know that no on could ever replace my mother, and I didn't want to replace Toby's either. I didn't want Toby to think of me as his mother, I wanted him to think of me as his friend.

"What was your nightmare about, sweetie?" I asked tiredly.

"I...I don't remember," he said softly. That was the thing about Toby, everything he did was soft. He would talk softly, he would walk softly, and he would even laugh softly. He was one of the shiest kids I had ever met, but that just made him even more adorable. He would never complain, and he would never pout. He was like the five-year old from heaven. Well, except for this waking me up in the middle of the night thing, but it was forgivable.

"Just try and go back to sleep, okay?" He nodded and closed his eyes. I looked over at my bedside table and saw the time. Four a.m., great. I waited a couple of minutes until I was sure Toby was asleep, and then decided to head downstairs. It was already four, and I probably wouldn't go back to sleep anyways. I slipped on some sweatpants over my boxers and cami and then headed down stairs. Everything was dark, but my eyes quickly adjusted and I maneuvered over to the fridge and open the freezer.

"There you are," I whispered to myself as I spotted my favorite ice cream. Chocolate chip cookie dough, yum. I took out the carton and set it on the table, then went and got two mugs and two spoons. I served each mug and few scoops of iced cream before putting the carton back in the fridge and washing off my hands. Then I put a spoon in each mug and picked them up. I opened the basement door, walked through, and shut it behind me while holding one of the mugs to my chest. _All skills_, I thought to myself and laughed. I carefully walked down the stairs without making a noise, but by the time I got to the bottom he was already sitting up in the bed/pull out couch. He smiled when he saw me, and scooted over in the bed to make room. I walked over and handed him a mug, and then sat down Indian style next to him.

"Hello, beautiful," he said. He was still laying down and he moved so that his head was resting in my lap. I leaned down and kissed him lips, Spiderman style.

"Thought you might want some," I said, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Mmm," he said, taking a bite of ice cream. "You know, this is kind of deja vu."

"How so?" I asked him, taking a bite of my own ice cream.

"The first time I talked to you, we were eating cookie dough ice cream," he said, his deep voice sending shivers down my body.

"You're right, we were." I laughed as I thought back to that night. "You know, you made me really nervous."

He chuckled. "I know."

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

"You're heart was beating so hard that I thought it my come out of your chest." He chuckled again and I laughed with him. He reached over and placed his mug on the table beside his bed, and I did the same. "Come here," he said, sliding up in the bed while I lay down and curled into his arms. "Why are you up so late?"

"Toby," I said simply, "He's sleeping in my bed right now."

"Poor kid," Brysdon said sympathetically, "I hope he stops having nightmares soon."

"He's gone through a lot," I said sadly. "I know I used to have nightmares when my parents died too."

"But he has us," he said, and kissed my forehead.

"Yeah," I smiled, "He does."

We stayed like that until morning, with me resting in his arms. Well, at least until we heard Ace get up and I had to race back upstairs.

"Let's go, Rose!" Shannon screamed from outside my doorway. "We're going to be late, again!"

"I'm coming!" I yelled back from my room. I slipped on my silver heels and looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a gorgeous dress that I had bought with Emily two weeks ago and heels to match. The dress was mostly backless with the occasional crisscrossing of fabric and was spaghetti strap. My hair was in a loose bun with a couple pieces hanging around my face that I had curled. My only jewelry was Brysdon's locket.

It was the middle of August, and the Galient was ending. Tonight was the last major party, and it was so formal that they referred to it as 'the final ball'. Soon everyone would part and go home. That also meant that I had to go back to school in a couple of weeks, ugh. Although, the good thing was that now I didn't have to worry about getting a date to the prom.

Brysdon, Greg, Damien and Sean went over to Frank's house to get ready with him, and Emily had promised her mom that they would spend some quality 'mother-daughter' time. That left me to get ready in my house with Shannon and Janice. Joy. Not that Janice was a pain, just that she didn't really talk. And the other one was just talked _too_ much.

The ball was being held in an extremely expensive ritzy hotel about half an hour from my house. I was so excited; I had never been to an event so formal in my life. Everyone was expected to go, but only those who were of age. Of course, this meant that Toby had to stay home. I would of felt uncomfortable leaving him home for so long, but I knew that Suze was taking care of him at Damien's house. Suze and I might not get along most of the time, but I knew that she loved Toby. Like I said, it was hard not to.

"Alright," I told Shannon, walking out my door and shutting it behind me, "Let's go." Shannon was wearing a pretty red dress and her blond hair was worn down and straight. "You look good," I told her with a smile, starting for the stairs.

"I know," she said smugly and rolled her eyes.

When we got to the bottom and I took my keys, she surprised me by saying, "You do, too."

"I know," I said back and she snorted. We locked the door behind us on our way out and headed for my car. Ever since my birthday, I've been driving my car around _everywhere_. I loved it. Shannon and I slipped inside and I started my baby.

"Hello, there," I said to the car and I backed out.

"You are so ridiculously weird," Shannon said.

"Says the girl with a crappy Honda," I snapped back. She made a face at me and I laughed. We rode in silence for about twenty-five minutes until we were close to the hotel.

"You know," Shannon said, surprising me, "I never really said anything about the whole...you know, Brysdon and you thing."

"Oh," I said, awkwardly, "You don't have to say anything." I turned on to the street of the hotel.

"I know," she said, "It's just...I'm glad. I mean, I'm glad that everything worked out. And that you weren't banished. Or killed."

"Uh, me, too." I said, pulling into valet, "And thanks. I'm glad that you're glad that I didn't get banished. Or killed." We both let out an awkward laugh before we got out of the car and I gave my keys to the valet guy.

We walked into the lobby and I was amazed by the hugeness of the place. There were people trickling around the elegant lobby and a large grand staircase was right in front of us.

"Are you here for the ball?" A small lady at the receptionist desk asked us.

"Yes," we both replied.

"It's up the staircase, and down the right hall. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," I said, before starting for the stairs. We walked up stairs and down the hallway, then made a right and saw an open door. The carpet was a beautiful red color and the doors were a dark mahogany. We walked over to the door, and looked inside the ballroom. It was absolutely gorgeous. The ballroom was humongous, and over the middle was a big, bright chandelier. Everything was a white marble, and there was an orchestra playing beautiful waltzes near the back of the room. There were tables and chairs set off to the sides of the room with white table clothes and candles. In the middle of the room, people were dancing and dipping to the rhythm of the music.

"Oh, my god," Shannon said after a few moments of gapping at the room.

"You said it," I said, and walked into the wonderful party. Everyone was in evening gowns and tuxedos which made everything that much more formal. I searched for my family, and finally found Ace and Jona sitting at a table in the middle of the room. I walked over to them and placed my silver clutch in a seat at the table. The men stood up and greeted Shannon and I.

"You look very handsome," I told my uncle as I kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, uh, thanks," he mumbled.

"And you two ladies look wonderful," Jona said as he kissed us both.

"Thank you," I said, and then looked around the room for my friends.

"Sean and Emily are dancing, Damien is trying to convince my son to ask Brittany to dance, and Brysdon is over at that table, waiting for you," Jona said, reading my thoughts.

"Thanks," I smiled, before heading over to the table where Brysdon was standing with Greg and Amanda. He wasn't facing me, so I walked over to their table to greet them. Amanda saw me half way there, and she tapped Brysdon on the shoulder and nodded toward me. He turned around quickly, and then slowed as he spotted me and a smile spread across his handsome face.

"You look absolutely breath taking," Brysdon said, as he was suddenly right in front of me. We kissed and our lips lingered on each other's for a few moments.

"And you look extremely handsome in your tux, Mr. Hollows," I told him.

"How was getting ready with the boys?" I asked him as we walked over to his table. Amanda greeted me and gave me a hug and Greg gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"It was...interesting," he said with a smile.

"Do I want to know?" I asked.

"No," Greg said, and Amanda and I laughed.

"Let's go say hi," I said, pointing to where Sean, Emily, Frank, and Damien were now huddled in a corner near the dance floor. We waved by to Greg and Amanda and started walking over to them. Brysdon wrapped his arm around my waist protectively as we weaved ourselves over to our friends.

"I love the dress," Brysdon whispered in my ear. Shivers raced down my body at his deep, rough voice and I blushed.

"Thank you," I said, "I thought silver would be different for a change."

"Different but classy," he added, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. We reached our friends and I poked my head in to see what they were whispering about.

"Come on, man," Damien said to Frank, "When are you ever going to get this chance again?"

"Yeah, Frank," I encouraged, "It's now or never." Everyone turned around, surprised to see me there. We all hugged quickly before getting to the matter at hand. I obviously knew what they were talking about, so I quickly explained to Brysdon.

"They're trying to get Frank to ask Brittany to dance," I told him, not bothering to lower my voice. Brittany had recovered from her little vampire rendezvous, thank god, and was now only sporting a cast on her broken leg. She had insisted going to the ball though, and was now standing with Rick on the opposite side of the room in a cute black dress.

"Stop being such a shy guy," Emily said.

"She'll say no," Frank replied nervously.

"Frank," Brysdon suddenly said and put a hand on Frank's shoulder, "Come here real quick." Brysdon led Frank away from our small circle and started talking to him.

"Well," Emily said, "So much for that." She was wearing a beautiful green dress and her hair was pinned back at her neck. "By the way, I told you that dress would look good on you."

"And I told you the same thing about that dress," I told her. "And Sean, you look smashing," I said in a faux British accent.

"Shut up," he muttered, "If it were my choice, I would be wearing jeans and a t-shirt." I laughed.

"I know," I told him. Brysdon and Frank started to walk back, so we turned and looked at them. But instead of walking to us, Frank breezed right past and walked straight up to Brittany. We saw them converse for a few seconds, and then we saw Brittany take Frank's hand and go right to the dance floor.

"What the hell did you tell him?" Sean asked Brysdon. I think he spoke for all of us.

"I can't say," Brysdon said mysteriously. He took my hand and mumbled 'let's go' and led me out to the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he slid his arms around my waist.

"What _did_ you say?" I asked, looking up at Brysdon.

"I already told you," he said smiling, "I can't say."

"Even for me?" I said innocently.

"Don't even think about it," he said dangerously and pulled me closer. I laughed and rested my head on his shoulder. After a few moments of dancing I groaned.

"I'm going to miss you," I said into his neck.

"I know," he said, "But it's only for a few weeks, and then I'll be back for good."

The vampires had to return home for the Gallient the next day, and most of them wouldn't be coming back. It was decided though, that some of the vampires were going to move down here, with the Kuzon tribe. Of course, this was Brysdon's proposal, and he and a couple of other vampires bought a house about twenty minutes from mine. The royal family had to go back, but Greg had convinced his parents to let him stay, and so did Amanda and Diane. In the meantime though, they all had to go back for four weeks to get everything together and move out here.

"A lot can happen in a few weeks," I whispered softly. He stopped dancing and pulled back to look at me.

"What do you mean?" he asked darkly.

"Well," I said, looking at the ground, "You could go home and well, change your mind..."

"About what?" he asked.

"About...me." I looked up from the floor and regretted it. His expression was unreadable at first, but then became dark and angry. He let go of my waist and grabbed my arm tightly.

"Come on," he said, before dragging me off the dance floor. He took me to the balcony on the side of the room, and he led me to the side so that the large, velvet curtains covered us from the ballroom inside.

"I will never," he said darkly, pinning me to the rail, "change my mind, about you."

"You don't know that," I whispered sadly. "When you go home, everything will be different. You'll be away from all the drama and craziness. You'll get a chance to think about everything, about how...this may be a mistake for you."

"Is that what you think?" he said. "You think that you're a mistake for me?"

"Sometimes," I answered. It felt like a weight was off my chest. The truth was, I was so afraid of Brysdon going home. Everything I had said was true. Sometimes, I did feel like maybe I was a mistake for him and that maybe he would realize it, too.

"Rose," he said softly, and then grabbed me and kissed me. It was the most passionate kiss I had ever experienced, and I didn't want it to ever end. Brysdon's hands were in my hair, and I was gripping his forearms. "Rose," he said again when he pulled away, and I almost gasped for air. "You will never be a mistake, do you understand? I love you, and being away won't change that," he said intensely.

"You promise?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"I promise," he said, and then we wrapped our arms around each other and hugged tightly. We stayed like that for a few moments, not wanting to let go. "Now promise _me_ something," he said when we pulled back and he wiped my hair out of my face.

"What?" I said.

"Promise me that on my birthday, you'll call me at 12:01 a.m. and sing me happy birthday. Okay?" He smiled at me and took my hand.

"I promise," I smiled back. Another downside of Brysdon leaving for a few weeks was that I would miss his birthday, but we had agreed that we would celebrate it when he got back. Just the two of us.

I hadn't known at the time, but four weeks later I would be in my English class, counting down the seconds until school was out for the day. The bell would ring, and I would be running to my locker and getting my stuff and meet up with Emily and Damien. We would walk out the doors together, and head for the parking lot, but I would stop in my tracks. For there would be the most handsome man I would ever meet standing by his black car in the parking lot, holding a red rose that I knew was just for me. I would run to him and we would embrace tightly, and then we would share the sweetest kiss known to man and Brysdon would tell me he loved me.

Of course, I hadn't known that back then, so we just headed back to the party. **;)**

**Hope you liked it. -Molly Rose**


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